The presence of the Minister of Energy Ms Dipuo Peters at this occasion is aimed at transcending the political power relations with the European Union to end the uneven socio-economic relations.
The visit will also help to build on the positive aspects of the Africa-European Union Energy Partnership which was signed by the African Union Commission and the European Commission in 2008.
According to a study conducted over 24 African countries by the World Bank on African Infrastructure in 2009, there is a poor state of infrastructure in the Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the areas of electricity, water, roads and information and communication technology.
This study also indicated that due to the poor state of affairs, national economic growth had been reduced and business productivity was cut by as much as 40 percent.
Minister Peters is of the view that without infrastructural development, it is not possible to stimulate economic growth.
Confronted with the challenge of ensuring access to cleaner, safer, efficient and affordable energy carrier, the South African government endorsed the integrated energy plan with its vision of transforming and creating a sustainable energy sector with universal access to modern energy carriers for all and improving the energy mix by having 30 percent of clean energy by 2025.
The minister will use this high level partnership meeting, which will be attended by several ministers to reaffirm South Africa’s commitment to enhancing energy security and energy access as well as promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in Africa.
