India re-elected President of 120-nation International Solar Alliance

New Delhi: India was re-elected as President of the 120-nation International Solar Alliance (ISA) from 2024 to 2026 on Monday, while France has been elected as Co-President, at the General Assembly held at the iconic Bharat Mandapam here.

Addressing a press conference at the 7th General Assembly of the ISA, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said India’s election to the President’s post is a testament to the impactful work the country, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been doing over the years for the global good in advancing solar energy adoption across the globe and boosting investment in essential solar projects, including mini-grids and healthcare solutions.

Joshi said while India was the sole contender for the post of President, the Co-Presidency was contested between the Republic of France and Grenada, with France emerging victorious.

“India and France, along with member countries, will aim to raise their ambitions and promise to make this decade count as we usher in a fresh wave of energy, determined to bring the power of solar to improve counties around the world in a way the world has never witnessed before,” the minister said.

Joshi highlighted that the ISA aims to give impetus to accelerate the journey towards the 1000 strategy which aims to mobilise $1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030.

The fresh elections to the post of President and Vice President gives both, India and France an opportunity to lead 120 countries again to build on the solid work that has already been done and more importantly leverage the gains we have made together, to now accelerate our mission towards a sustainable path, he added.

Eight Vice Presidents of the Standing Committee, two from each of the four ISA geographical regions, were also selected by the Assembly. The include Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean regions.

ISA Member Countries have also selected the third Director General of the Alliance. Ashish Khanna is the Director General Designate and will assume office in March 2025 when the tenure of the incumbent Director General, Dr Ajay Mathur, comes to a close.

ISA initiated Demonstration Projects in 2020 to meet the needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Development States (SIDS). The aim was to exhibit solar technology applications that can be scaled up and build the capacity of Member Countries to replicate these solar-powered solutions. Today, 11 of these projects were dedicated to the people of the respective countries: Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cuba, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Samoa, Senegal, The Gambia, and Tonga. ISA remains committed to supporting governments in their efforts to scale up solar energy projects and improve the lives of their people.

According to Minister Joshi, the ISA acknowledges that accelerating adoption of advanced technologies relies on a skilled workforce that can design, install, and maintain them effectively. For advancing capacity building in its Member Countries, the ISA had launched the STAR-C initiative for setting up Solar Technology Application Resource Centres (STAR-Centres), in collaboration with the Republic of France. These national centres are equipped with specialized training facilities, tools, and structured learning modules designed to cultivate a highly skilled solar workforce.

The minister said ISA has successfully established and operationalized STAR Centers in seven countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Cuba, Côte d’Ivoire, Kiribati, Ghana, and Bangladesh. Since their launch, these centers have already trained thousands of professionals in various aspects of solar energy, preparing them to contribute effectively to the sector’s rapid expansion.

“The Assembly will also consider other substantial matters, such as work plans for the coming year and include updates on ISA’s priority areas of work and projects. An important topic of discussion will be the guidelines for the Viability Gap Funding,” Joshi added.

IANS