Director of ceremonies, the Vice President, General (Rtd) Dr. Chiwenga, Vice President, National Chairman of ZANU-PF and the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Her Excellency Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, President of the International Solar Alliance and Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy of India, Mr. Joshi, Director General and the leadership of the International Solar Alliance, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Zimbabwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Your Excellencies, heads of delegations, distinguished representatives of member states, academia, development partners, and financial institutions, captains of industry and commerce, comrades, and friends. On behalf of the government and the people of Zimbabwe, and indeed on my own behalf, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to Zimbabwe, and in particular to the resort tourist town of Victoria Falls, for the eighth meeting of the International Solar Alliance Regional Committee for Africa.
At the outset, I convey my warm greetings to His Excellency the Prime Minister of India and His Excellency the President of France, Mr. Macron. We commend and acknowledge their ongoing commitments to open the respective partnerships of India and France with Africa in relation to solar energy as well as other facets of development. We are honored by the opportunity to host this important meeting of the International Solar Alliance. This attests to the confidence which the international community has in our country. It further affirms our shared commitment to cooperation in advancing Africa's critical role in the current global energy transition agenda.
The International Solar Alliance provides us an opportunity to strengthen Africa's economic integration, share experiences, build capacity, develop projects, promote technologies, and mobilize investments. Outcomes and recommendations from this forum should proffer practical solutions to translate Africa's solar energy potential into wealth and an overall improved quality of life for our people. Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we are meeting at a critical time when energy systems are undergoing transformation driven by rapid technological advancements. This shift is characterized by the adoption of clean energy solutions supported by cost reductions for enhanced energy efficiency.
Our African continent must industrialize, modernize, and scale up access to essential services. To this end, our rich natural resources, including solar, must be viewed as instruments of economic transformation and prosperity. In this context, access to reliable energy remains fundamental to Africa's development, as outlined in the African Union Agenda 2063. Given its consistent availability, solar energy has the potential to power and support rapid socioeconomic development. Converting Africa's enormous solar potential into projects that yield measurable development outcomes is now imperative.
I call upon us to deliberately set out to put in place effective institutions, appropriate technical standards, transparent procurement systems, and reliable infrastructure to realize this objective. As an alliance, we have a duty to facilitate investment by deploying the necessary technology and financial resources towards implementing projects at a larger scale. We must deliberately drive forward the modernization and industrialization agenda of our countries. To this end, financing solar energy transition must be designed around Africa's realities, particularly to enable food security and sovereignty, employment creation, as well as climate resilience, among other key priority areas.
Undeniably, the scale of investment required for power generation, transmission, and distribution, coupled with the establishment of mini-grids, off-grid systems, and storage facilities, cannot be met by public resources alone. Hence, stronger partnerships among governments, development finance institutions, investors, and the private sector must be forged and nurtured. On its part, Zimbabwe will continue to create an enabling business operating environment and welcome innovative financing models. Under the ongoing energy revolution, independent power producers and private stakeholders in mining and manufacturing, among other sectors, are being enabled to develop energy solutions while contributing to our national energy mix.
The International Solar Alliance is challenged to provide timely assistance to member states with regard to the development of standardized approaches and connecting bankable projects to appropriate financing. In doing so, effort should be deployed around regional and intergovernmental financing platforms, particularly where projects can benefit from regional electricity markets and shared infrastructure. Meanwhile, Africa's energy transition must be just and inclusive, leaving no one and no place behind. We all have a responsibility to empower the women and young people of our continent as essential participants in the ongoing transition, as well as entrepreneurs, technicians, engineers, researchers, and innovators.
I exhort us to strengthen the capacity to manufacture, adapt, install, operate, and maintain solar technologies. This entails necessary technical and vocational education. In this regard, capacity-building programs such as the Solar Technology Application Resource Centre are welcome initiatives that will contribute increased technical knowledge, learning, and skills transfer to our young people. I challenge the youth and women across our continent, Africa, to boldly participate in solar energy value chains. Our collective success should not only be measured in megawatts generated and installed, but in empowered lives, jobs created, enterprises developed, local capabilities built, and broader trade in clean energy solutions, among other aspects.
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, in the case of Zimbabwe, renewable energy is an important pillar of our national energy security and economic development. Rural electrification supports energy access, food security, climate resilience, and improved rural household incomes. My administration welcomes the International Solar Alliance's community of practice on the solarization of agriculture. Through our successful village business units, industrial parks, and solarized irrigation schemes, we are ready to use such platforms towards sharing experiences and developing more practical, scalable solutions that can be replicated across Africa.
Our National Development Strategy 1 targets increasing universal energy access. This is anchored by expanding renewable energy generation through pursuing utility-scale solar projects, solar mini-grids, solar home systems, solarization of public institutions, and productive use applications. The Presidential Solar Scheme targeting over 1.2 million households is set to accelerate access to electricity, particularly for rural development and industrialization. It is my expectation that the Country Partnership Framework to be concluded during this meeting will provide an important platform for boosting cooperation between Zimbabwe and the International Solar Alliance.
Distinguished guests, Africa's ongoing engagement with the International Solar Alliance must deepen as member states realize greater access to technical assistance, project preparation, capacity development, and investment opportunities. Zimbabwe is supportive of the Alliance's institutional presence on the African continent and welcomes the establishment of the regional office. Overall, our goal should be towards a partnership that is sustainable, people-centered, responsive, and focused on integration.
It is critically important that our discussions focus on the following priority areas, among others: one, mobilizing adequate and appropriate finance; two, developing bankable solar projects and moving them from concept to implementation; three, building technical and institutional capacity to effectively develop, regulate, and manage solar projects; four, promoting innovation and local participation in solar value chains to support industrial development and empowerment; as well as five, strengthening monitoring and accountability to ensure that progress is measured through tangible, high-impact results.
As part of Africa's leadership, we shall continue to assume our shared obligation and responsibility to improve the quality of life of our people. Working with unity of purpose, we must achieve the value addition and beneficiation of our local resources, including critical minerals, while also creating transformative pathways that unlock broad economic and employment opportunities for our citizens. Zimbabwe remains committed to working with the International Solar Alliance and African member states to advance this agenda. We look forward to translating our Country Partnership Framework into practical and transformative results.
Africa's sun remains the solid foundation for energy security and self-sufficiency, as well as industrialization, modernization, and shared prosperity for all our peoples. With these remarks, it is now my singular honor and privilege to declare the 8th meeting of the International Solar Alliance Regional Committee for Africa officially open. I wish you successful and productive deliberations. God bless Africa. I thank you.
