CHAD WILL ATTEND IRENA PREPARATORY MEETING IN EGYPT

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000250


STATE FOR AF/C, AF/EX, EEB
LONDON FOR POL - LORD
PARIS FOR POL - KANEDA, DELIA
ADDIS ABABA FOR AU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL APER ECON ETRD ELAB EFIN CD
SUBJECT: CHAD WILL ATTEND IRENA PREPARATORY MEETING IN EGYPT

REF: State 61286

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Following instruction in reftel, Post met with the Director
of Energy at the Ministry of Energy, Mbodou Djourab, June 22. The
Director confirmed that Chad would attend the International
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) preparatory meeting to be held in
Egypt at the end of this month. Djourab also said that on January
26, Chad had signed the IRENA Statute, but had not yet got its
National Assembly to ratify the document. The Director assured us
that the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy was working on the basis
of the IRENA text but did not know when it would be acted on
formally by parliamentarians. END SUMMARY.

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LEANING TOWARD THE
UAE CANDIDACY
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2. (U) Director Djourab said he appreciated that Post was sharing
views based on reftel. He acknowledged that the governments of
Austria, Germany and the UAE had sought Chad's support, but he did
not give any indication of which candidacy his government would
endorse. He seemed to appreciate the UAE candidacy for the same
reasons that the USG does. He noted that were UAE to host IRENA,
this would be the first Middle East-headquartered permanent
international organization with a focus on clean energy technology;
that the selection of an OPEC country to host IRENA would send an
important positive message about the global transition to low-carbon
economics; and that the bulk of global energy demand growth was
expected to come from Asia and the Middle East, making a UAE
headquarters a practical choice.


3. (U) The Director also said that the ultimate decision on whom to
support would be made by Chad's delegation to the Egypt meeting. He
promised to convey U.S. views to all delegation members.

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AFRICA, AN IMPORTANT
SOLAR ENERGY SOURCE
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4. (U) Director Djourab welcomed the creation of IRENA and said he
thought that the organization's mission should help developing
countries take advantage of renewable energy technology. While
sharing the USG's vision explained in reftel demarche, the Director
added that the future Agency should put more focus on African
countries, as they could be important solar energy sources.

BREMNER