His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's minister of foreign affairs, recently inaugurated the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) headquarters in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City.
“The inauguration of the IRENA headquarters today in Masdar City marks an important milestone on the UAE’s successful journey to host the intergovernmental organization, which began with our bid submission seven years ago,” Al Nahyan said. “Hosting IRENA in Abu Dhabi is a reflection of the UAE’s commitment to expanding access to sustainable, clean energy both domestically and internationally. We look forward to partnering closely with IRENA and countries around the world to support the further development of renewable energy and clean technologies.”
This new building emphasizes that the UAE is the world’s energy leader and will hold the Middle East’s first intergovernmental agency.
“In 2006, when Abu Dhabi launched the Masdar Initiative, the UAE made a bold decision to become the first country in the region to firmly commit to advancing and adopting renewable energy,” UAE Minister of State Her Excellency Reem Al Hashemi said. “This commitment provided us with the credibility to make another bold decision in 2008: to bring IRENA to our nation’s capital and Masdar City. Today, we welcome this unique global powerhouse, and vital organization to the rapidly growing renewable energy industry, to its new headquarters.”
The facility is the most sustainable office building within the UAE, and it physically embodies the agency’s goal to further progress renewable energy in the region.
“The UAE has firmly established itself as a committed global leader in the deployment of innovative renewable energy solutions worldwide,” HE Sultan Al Jaber, UAE special envoy for energy and climate change and chairman of Masdar City, said. “This commitment is reflected in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainable ecosystem, which is the ideal location for IRENA to carry out their mission to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy globally. It is only fitting that this important intergovernmental organisation’s work is conducted from the most sustainable office building in the UAE.”
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