ADDIS ABABA,The Africa Union (AU) and New Zealand have signed a partnership agreement on the “New Zealand-Africa Geothermal Facility”.

The deal, reached between by the AU Commission and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), has a goal of expanding access to affordable, reliable and clean energy in East African countries, according to a statement issued by the AU Commission here Thursday.

Amani Abou-Zeid, the AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, and Bruce Shepherd, New Zealand’s Ambassador to the AU, signed the agreement Wednesday at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The signing of the Partnership Agreement follows on from 2016 when New Zealand provided the AU access to its “Geothermal Drilling Code” for use by member states, according to the statement.

The facility will operate for an initial implementation time-frame of five years from 2017 to 2020 and will be hosted by the AU Department of Infrastructure & Energy.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK