On 11 November the Italian Embassy in Dakar organised a webinar on renewable energy in Senegal. This event aroused great interest among Italian businesses and made it possible to go into the question in greater depth, as well as to dialogue with the main local players in that sector.
In fact, investments in energy are one of the Senegalese Government’s mainstays as it strives for economic recovery following Covid. The Webinar opened with a recorded video message from Deputy Minister, Manlio Di Stefano, who wanted to highlight the favourable linking with COP-26, co-chaired by Italy, just a few days after Italy’s Presidency of the G20, dedicated to People, Planet, and Prosperity, ended in Rome. The Deputy Minister also recalled that, “in a few months time, Senegal will take up the Presidency of the African Union for 2022, which will put it in an even better position to make its contribution to the continent’s future”.
The Guest of Honour at the meeting was Boubacar Mbodji, the President of the Republic’s Councillor Minister for Energy. In his address, Mr Mbodji dealt with the, “Current energy access conditions, given that the energy deficit in West Africa can only be made up by interconnecting power grids, so that surplus production from some Countries can be transferred to others where there is still a shortage. This,” he added, “is a vital economic question for industrial, mining, and agro-alimentary production”. In this sense, “The large-capacity solar power stations should contribute to attaining this goal”.
Italy’s Ambassador to Senegal, Giovanni Umberto De Vito, highlighted Italy’s role as a large producer of technologies for renewable energy, and covered the commercial and industrial potential associated with the ever faster development of this sector.
Those who addressed the webinar included Massimo Dal Checco, President of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and of the SIDI Group, that was awarded a contract by the World Bank for digitalisation of the Senegalese state electricity supply company, Senelec; and Roberto Vigotti, Secretary General of Res4Africa. Representatives of the World Bank and the Senegalese Renewable Energy Agency were also present.