EU Reaffirms Commitment to Unlocking Africa’s Renewable Energy, Regional Trade

Addis Ababa, June 30, 2025 (ENA) --- The European Union has reaffirmed its commitment to working alongside African institutions in strengthening regulatory frameworks and unlocking the potential of renewable energy and regional energy trade.

Opening the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) High-level Technical meeting today, Head of Policy and Cooperation at the EU delegation to the African Union Gianluca Azzoni commended the coordination among AU energy institutions, regional economic communities, power pools, regional regulators and member states.

The European Union is delighted to be among the key partners in this journey, as set out in the EU Global Gateway strategy, he said, adding “we support investment in energy transmission and generation infrastructure, as well as energy access at national and regional levels through the Africa -Europe Green Energy Initiative.”

“We are committed to working alongside African institutions in removing investment barriers, strengthening regulatory frameworks and unlocking the potential of renewable energy and regional energy trade,” he stated.

 

As AfSEM transitions from design to full scale implementation, we encourage member states and regional institutions to maintain momentum, foster deeper collaboration and fully integrate AfSEM principles into national and regional planning frameworks, he said.

African Development Bank PESR-Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation Director Wale Shonibare said for his part that electricity trading allows countries to access cheaper, cleaner sources of supply and improve system reliability.

AfDB plays a crucial role in deploying innovative de-risking instruments, he affirmed “We will continue to leverage and expand various de-risking tools, be it partial risk guarantees, partial credit guarantees, or specialized blended finance instruments such as the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.”

 

Noting that no single institution can do this alone, he stressed the need to deepen collaboration with other multilateral development banks, bilateral partners, private and finances, among others.

AUDA-NEPAD Energy Principal Program officer Tichakunda Simbini on his part said that the central African Power pool, and the Southern and the Eastern power pool are going to be key for generating power that will be traded between the power pools.

He called on all partners to make a concerted effort to make sure that at least those regional power pools are operational by 2030 in accordance with the timeline of the AfSEM.

AUC Infrastructure and Energy Director Kamugisha Kazaura said today marks a pivotal moment in a collective pursuit to transform Africa's energy landscape.

 

“Today is an opportunity for us to lay institutional and operational foundations for the implementation of a unified Africa electricity market, which will deliver clean, reliable as well as affordable electricity for the continent.”

He also commended the technical and financial support, which has been extended by the European Union from the inception of the program in 2015 and through the work which was carried out through the Global technical assistance facility.

AfSEM is designed to bring greater energy security, sustainability, and competitiveness to the Africa Union Member States.