UNGA: Obasanjo, African leaders, Okonjo- Iweala, experts proffer solutions on power at FIN’s Forum  

Important dignitaries including former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Ghanaian President, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, Director General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, other African Leaders and experts are expected to proffer the way forward on energy matters at the FIN International Trade and Investment Forum in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The event which hold on the margins of UNGA on Friday, where world leaders will focus on climate change, disruptions in the ecosystems and make firm statements on the future of fossil fuel and renewable energy.
The theme of the event is titled: Power for Africa.
The organizer of the event and President, Foreign Investment Network, Dr Alex Itkin, stated this in a statement made available on Thursday.
The statement reads in part, “As energy demand continues to increase, hundreds of millions of people in Africa lack basic access to electricity and resort to the use of dirty fuels to cook and power their homes.
“According to a 2019 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) 770 million people have no electricity 75 percent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa and 900 million lack access to clean cooking in the region. The $131 million commitment in clean cooking is just a fraction of the $4.5 billion needed by 2030.
“Power Africa”, an initiative of former American presidential, Barack Obama was launched in Tanzania, in July 2013. The initiative was to support economic growth and development in Africa by increasing access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power.”
Commenting the level of Power deficiency in Africa, Dr Alex Itkin said, “Sub-Saharan Africa is starved of stable power. The region’s power sector is significantly underdeveloped when you take a look at power accessibility, installed capacity, overall consumption vis-a-vis the population. Most commercial entities run on fossil energy which is very expensive and contributes to climate disruptions”.
The meeting will also interrogate the role of Artificial Intelligence in the power eco-system. AI techniques have become popular for solving different problems in power systems like control, planning, scheduling, forecast, generation, management and distribution of power. It is believed that AI can untie the difficulties experienced in large power management systems with even more interconnections installed to meet increasing load demand.
The statement further disclosed that, “Some of the expected dignitaries are: His Excellency, Olusegun Obasanjo former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria; His Excellency Faure Gnassingbé President of Togo; His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema President of Zambia; His Excellency Felix Tshisekedi President Democratic Republic of Congo; His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi President of Egypt; His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; His Excellency Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe; President of Madagascar and His Excellency Lazarus Chakwera President Republic of Malawi.
Other dignitaries include: Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General World Trade Organization (WTO); Senator Ben Cardin CEO Global Chambers and Senator of Mayland USA; Mercedes Narcisse, New York City Council member; Mohammed Dewji, CEO and President MeTLf Group; Prakash Hinduja, Chairman Europe Hinduja; Senator Margaret Chuba Okadigbo Chairman NNPC Ltd; Mike Jocktane Gabonese Presidential candidate and Mohammad Abuhilal, CEO Sun Synergy Group.
“For over 20 years, Foreign Investment Network (FIN) a United Kingdom-based company has been a key drive of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for Africa and other developing economies. FIN is a consultant in Oil and Gas, Agriculture, telecommunications, Metallurgical & Engineering Industries, Infrastructure, Maritime for financing, project assessment, and Risk analysis.”