For Immediate Release
Press Release
September 13, 2022, Almaty, Kazakhstan – Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched its first Central Asia Clean Energy Forum, an international event themed “Energy Transition and Innovation” that brings together nearly 300 participants from the Central Asian region and around the world to address key energy sector challenges and opportunities.
Policymakers, utility executives, leading technology companies, and international investors have convened in Almaty to discuss energy strategies, emerging clean energy technologies, and investments to respond to the major changes in both the regional and global energy scene.
In his opening remarks, the Regional Mission Director of the USAID mission in Central Asia, Lawrence Hardy noted, “The United States and Central Asian governments share an important and common vision: to improve the economic prosperity and well-being of all Central Asian people…We are now at a critical juncture in the reform and transition of the energy sector in the region, driven by energy security and global energy market developments as well as the imperative to address global climate issues and the development of clean energy sources.”
Vice-Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zhandos Nurmaganbetov, welcomed the participants on behalf of the Ministry of Energy. Deputy Minister of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tilek Aitaliev, Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan, Sorbon Kholmuhammadzoda, Deputy Chairman of the Antimonopoly Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Bekzod Ummatov, and Chief Engineer of Turkmenistan’s State Electricity Corporation “Turkmenenergo”, Erkin Gurbanov, also joined the event to present on and discuss the state of energy transition in the region.
Over 50 speakers, representing Central Asia, the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Austria, and France, presented major initiatives to help the Central Asian countries meet their climate commitments, discuss the role of innovation, technology, and finance to support the energy transition, and respond to the challenges and opportunities of market-based regional electricity cooperation and trade that have the greatest implications for the future trajectory of energy system development.
As part of the Forum, USAID also launched the American Innovation Center for Central Asia – a virtual platform to promote the use of global best practices and modern technologies for renewable energy development and integration.
Over the past three decades years, the U.S. Government has worked with the countries of Central Asia on a range of endeavors related to economic growth, power sector modernization and resilience, natural resource management, and climate change adaptation. USAID has supported the countries’ efforts to improve the performance of electric utilities, promote investment in clean energy, and expand cross-border electricity trade. This Central Asia Clean Energy Forum is organized by the USAID Power Central Asia Activity – a flagship five-year, $40 million project organized around three pillars – energy sector revitalization, clean energy investments, and cross-border trade, launched in 2020.
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USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. For more information, visit https://www.usaid.gov/central-asia-regional and USAID’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDCentralAsia
