African Ministerial Conference on Energy Security and Sustainability
Maputo, 28-30 March 2007

Introduction

The Energy Ministers in Africa resolved, in 2005, to form the Forum for Energy Ministers of Africa (FEMA) with the following objectives:

1. Serve as an advocacy group to raise the profile of the energy sector in achieving economic growth and attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs);
2. Act as an informal mechanism to support national governments in scaling-up energy access; and
3. Promote regional cooperation in developing regional energy markets and common standards.

In light of the current energy situation in Africa, one of the most urgent development challenges for African countries is to secure stable and affordable energy services in the short, medium and long-term. In this context, FEMA will hold a ministerial conference on Energy Security and Sustainability in Africa in Maputo, Mozambique 28-30 March 2007.

Conference Objective
The objective of the conference is to provide a high-level forum for Ministers to articulate a policy and investment framework for scaling-up energy access in Africa, which could help establish a strategic contract between African nations and their Development Partners to accelerate access to modern energy in order to boost growth, reduce poverty and attain the MDGs.

Conference Outcomes
The conference would seek to achieve three specific outcomes:

1. Provide input to the launch of sector-wide investment programs by African countries in the energy sector.
   
2. Strengthen and broaden FEMA as a group of Ministers committed to scaling-up energy access in Africa through comprehensive, coherent and credible implementation plans
   
3. Contribute to the development of an African position on energy security and sustainability for CSD-15.

Conference Topics
With a view to developing a Ministerial declaration to guide the work of FEMA, its participating countries, donors, and other stakeholders, the conference will focus on three topics:

1. Mobilizing resources for energy access, ii)
2. Policy and financing frameworks for the power sector and
3. Opportunities and challenges for cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

Conference participants
Invitees to the conference will include African Ministers of Energy and other senior government officials, as well as high-level representatives from regional institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, and private sector financiers in the energy sector. Conference language will be French and English

Further information
For additional information, please contact the following: Jane Nimpamya, FEMA Coordination Unit, email: Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. Office Tel +256 414348519, Mobile Tel +256 772 435349 or James Baanabe, P.O. Box 7270, Kampala, Uganda, Tel +256 772 629446 Email: Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir.

FORUM OF ENERGY MINISTERS OF AFRICA (FEMA)