Under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and in the framework of the continuous and fruitful technical cooperation between the Energy Department of the League of Arab States and the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), RCREEE participated as an observer on September 16, 2014, in the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity Executive Bureau, which is held annually at least once, to discuss the most important issues related to the electricity sector in the Arab countries, and to issue relevant resolutions.
Dr. Tareq Emtairah, Executive Director of RCREEE represented the center, where he presented a summary of the progress of the tasks assigned to the center by the Executive Bureau. Dr. Emtairah presented a review of the assessment of cooperation with other authorities and regional and international entities, as well as the most important conclusions and initiatives proposed through the “Pan Arab Renewable Energy Strategy - Road Map for Actions for Implementation” study, which has been prepared in collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Energy Department at the Arab League and under the supervision of Eng. Jamila Matar, Director of Energy Department of the League of Arab States.
The meeting assured the necessity of RCREEE in continuing its efforts in the application of the Arab Energy Efficiency Guideline and to improve the electricity usage by the end user, and continue working on updating the renewable energy and energy efficiency guide through the creation of a database for the renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Arab countries which RCREEE is currently developing, in preparation for its launch by the end of the year.
One of the most important results of the meeting is the adoption of the Arab Renewable Energy Guideline and its annex: National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) which is the result of collaboration between the Energy Department of the League of Arab States and RCREEE and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), in addition to calling on the Arab countries to use the model as a guide in preparing their renewable energy national plans.
Also, RCREEE was tasked to provide technical assistance to the member States to prepare their renewable energy national plans, to integrate renewable energy as a key element in their energy mix.
For his part, Dr. Emtairah stressed on the importance of cooperation with the League of Arab States represented by the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity and the Executive Office and the Energy Department of the of the Economic Sector.
The Palestinian Minister of Electricity, H.E. Dr. Omar Kettana also thanked RCREEE for the great efforts undertaken in the framework of cooperation with the League of Arab States.