BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 16. Under the Africa Green Investment Initiative, $4.5 billion has been mobilized to accelerate clean energy development across the continent, UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan said at the African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa, Trend reports.
The summit brought together heads of state, government leaders and senior officials to discuss Africa’s priorities, including peace and security, economic integration and sustainable development.
“Under the Africa Green Investment Initiative, $4.5 billion has been mobilised to accelerate clean energy development, with more than 60 projects in preparation across solar, wind, geothermal, battery storage, and green hydrogen technologies,” Sheikh Shakhboot said.
He noted that Masdar’s $10 billion Africa programme and the Etihad 7 initiative aim to expand access to electricity to up to 100 million people by 2035.
“These projects are designed to expand generation capacity and reduce structural power deficits,” he added.
Highlighting the broader framework of cooperation, Sheikh Shakhboot emphasized the UAE’s long-standing ties with African nations.
“Our engagement with Africa is rooted in decades of trade, maritime links, and people-to-people connections across the Red Sea and Indian Ocean corridors,” he said. “Today, that historic connectivity is reflected in a growing diplomatic footprint (19 embassies in Sub Sahara Africa) with further expansion underway.”
According to the minister, between 2019 and 2023, the UAE committed more than $110 billion in investments across Africa, with over $70 billion directed toward energy, green and renewable sectors.
“This reflects a long-term assessment that energy access is the foundation of industrialisation and economic diversification,” he said.
Sheikh Shakhboot also pointed to the UAE’s expanding economic partnerships, noting that nine Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements have been concluded with African countries, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Angola, Kenya, Congo-Brazzaville, Mauritius, and the Central African Republic.
“These agreements extend beyond tariff reductions to services, digital trade, and investment protection. They are structured to complement the African Continental Free Trade Area by strengthening value chains and facilitating cross-border competitiveness,” he said.
In the logistics sector, the minister highlighted major infrastructure projects led by UAE companies, including DP World’s $1 billion upgrade of the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and AD Ports’ new terminal in Luanda, Angola.
“These are long-term trade-enabling assets aligned with regional integration ambitions,” he said.
Sheikh Shakhboot added that nearly 40 percent of the UAE’s total foreign assistance over the past decade - approximately $20.9 billion - has been directed to African countries.
Looking ahead, he underscored water security and climate resilience as emerging priorities, noting that the UAE will co-host the 2026 UN Water Conference with Senegal from December 2-4, 2026.
“Our approach reflects the lens through which we view this partnership and structural cooperation built for the decades ahead,” Sheikh Shakhboot said.