Page 288 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - AUGUST 2024

8/29/24, 4:39 PM The UAE can act as a catalyst to harness the promise of Africa | The National
in Africa In recent years, the scale of our investments has

matched the scope of our ambition. In 2023, the

UAE’s total commitment to the continent was $44.5 billion, which was not only the most

by any foreign nation but twice the amount of the next highest investor, China – and seven

times more than the figure committed by the US. Last year’s investment alone helped

create more than 18,000 jobs, with renewable energy and infrastructure among the most

prominent sectors.

Indeed, renewable energy is one area in which the UAE is driving the most tangible

change. At Cop28 in Dubai in November 2023, Masdar signed projects with six nations as

part of a $10 billion commitment to provide 10GW of clean energy in Africa by 2030,

which will help provide access to electricity for the nearly 50 per cent of sub-Saharan

Africans who currently lack it. They include solar projects in Angola and a collaboration

to expand the geothermal energy capacity in Kenya. Just this month, Dubai’s AMEA
Power announced an agreement to build, own and operate Aysha Wind 1, a $620 million

solar wind farm in Ethiopia that will power more than 4 million households.

Logistics is another priority sector that can unlock Africa’s potential, by enabling the

export of key products and adding value with capabilities such as manufacturing,

processing and assembly. DP World operates nine ports in Africa, the most recent being a

30-year concession agreement to run and upgrade Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania. In

2022, the company also bought South Africa’s Imperial Logistics for $890 million, which

operates in 26 countries across Africa and Europe. In the same year, AD Ports completed
its first international acquisition, buying a controlling stake in Egypt’s Transmar Shipping

and Transcargo International Company and enabling it to penetrate the important North

Africa and Red Sea regions.

We are also facilitating joint ventures in other vital sectors such as agriculture, including

the cultivation of rice and avocados in Angola, real estate in Egypt and South Africa, and

education, in particular an initiative to train five million coders in Ethiopia. Emirates

https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2024/08/27/the-uae-can-act-as-a-catalyst-to-harness-the-promise-of-africa/ 2/4