Afghanistan keen on energy collaborations with India
Afghanistan has invited Indian companies to explore business opportunities expressing willingness for collaborations with India in the renewable energy sector. “With industrialization and development, environment was under pressure, hence, there is aneed to utilize renewables to produce energy which will eventually fuel the industry,” said Ali AhmadOsmani, Minister of Energy and Water, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The minister led a business delegation to take part in the ‘India-Afghanistan Renewable Energy Summit which was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water and Afghanistan Renewable Energy Union (AREU), the Indian Embassy in Kabul and UASID, Afghanistan, in New Delhi on Thursday. Addressing the summit, he said that Afghanistan has tremendous potential to produce energy from different clean sources and the country’s doors were open for international investors to explore opportunities in this space. Nasir Ahmad Durrani, Minister of Rural and Rehabilitation and Development, Afghanistan, also said that Indian investors can explore many avenues in the off grid energy segment. “Off grid energy is feasible, cost effective and there are opportunities for Indian companies to establish their capabilities in Afghanistan,” he said. According to Kabul Khan Tadbir, Chairman, Afghanistan Renewable Energy Union (AREU),the delegation’s visit to India is aimed at “exhibiting attractive investments prospects in thecountry and also giving a glimpse of opportunities that were ready to be explored”. Devin Narang, Managing Director, Sindicatum Sustainable Resources, & Chairman, FICCI Bio Energy Task Force, called upon global firms from oil, gas, coal and cement sectors to join hands to fight the impact of climate change. He said that the Indian government is committed towards clean energy development and deployment and has set the target of 100,000 MW renewable energy installations in the next five years with an investment of about Rs.2 lakh crore. As a mark of India-Afghan bilateral ties, Ali AhmadOsmani announced that the Salma Dam, India's major reconstruction project in Afghanistan,would be renamed as ‘Afghan-India Friendship Dam’. Construction of the dam, which is witnessing $300 million Indian investment, post completion, is expected to generate around 42 Mega Watts of electricity and supply water nearly to 80,000 hectares of farmland. The project is expected to be completed in a year. Business delegation from Afghanistanhoped to deliberate on ideas thrown up during the summit and looked forward to business match-making with Indianinvestors in the area of renewable, he said.
August 07, 2015 | 2:26pm IST.
to success.