The UfM Secretariat and OME agree to work together in the implementation of the MSP
Marrakech, 16th May, 2012. The UfMS has been tasked to coordinate the implementation of the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) aiming at large scale deployment of renewable energy sources and enhancement of energy efficiency in the Mediterranean Region.
OME is a 20-year old non-profit Association gathering 30 major energy companies from 14 Mediterranean countries and is the think tank of reference for energy data and perspectives in the Mediterranean. Its main mission is to promote regional cooperation in the energy field in the Mediterranean.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the UfMS and OME is an important step towards the implementation of the MSP through the involvement of the industry in this objective. The agreement entails exchanging information about the energy issues and challenges in Mediterranean countries, organizing common events and launching capacity building programmes.
A close cooperation between the UfMS and the industry will help progress towards the sustainable energy development in the Region.
Mr. Fathallah Sijilmassi, Secretary General, and Amb. Sotiris Varouxakis, Deputy Secretary General, signed the agreement on behalf of the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat. Mr. Pedro Moraleda, General Director of OME, signed on behalf of Mr. Bruno Lescoeur, Vice-President of the OME, along with Mrs. Houda Ben Jannet Allal, Strategy Director.
Mr. Moraleda highlighted at the signature the expected steep rise in electricity demand in the South driven by demographic and socio-economic growth and increasing urbanization. Coping with the expected demand and minimizing the environmental impact of additional generation will make necessary, he said, a huge effort in energy efficiency and in the deployment of renewable sources.
Secretary General Sijilmassi added: “I believe that the cooperation between the UfM and an association that gathers major energy companies from the two rims of the Mediterranean is a key step for the implementation of the Mediterranean Solar Plan.”
