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The UAE has longstanding economic and cultural ties with African nations and the huge economic transformation in the energy sector in the continent, makes it ideal for investments from around the globe, especially the UAE and the Middle East, Suhail Al Mazrouei, the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said.
Speaking at the Africa Oil Week 2021 in Dubai, the minister said that in terms of investment, the UAE is the fourth largest foreign country to invest in the African continent.
"We have invested in 71 different projects worth $5.64 billion, across different sectors," the minister said.
The interest has been mutual with Uganda recently signing several new businesses deals worth $650 million at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The commitments included $500 million for renewable energy and transportation projects; $50 million investment into mineral processing; and $50 million for a new pharmaceutical facility to manufacture high quality diagnostics kits for HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB, and other POC diagnostic technology.
Al Mazrouei highlighted the importance of African nations focusing on energy security for economic development.
"It is evident to the world that oil and gas are significant sources of primary energy supply and strongly impact economic growth and the development of the industrial sector," he said.
"To this effect, we carry on our endeavours to drive the progress of the sector by also focusing on knowledge transfer to support African governments achieve a sustainable and realistic drive to energy access for all of Africa, in a manner aligned with the Paris agreement," Mazrouei added.
Reiterating on the opportunities for collaboration, the minister said: "Africa’s great potential, human capital and rich resource can be supplemented through a continued supply of oil to the region. We believe there are immense collaboration opportunities for the UAE and Africa in the energy and industrial sectors."
(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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© ZAWYA 2021