Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that the first Central Asia Clean Energy Forum (CACEF) will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 13-15 September 2022.

The Energy Transition and Innovation Forum will bring together more than 200 government representatives from all five countries in the region – Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – as well as regional and global investors, technology companies, utilities and international organizations.

Speakers from the region, the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Austria and France will present the main initiatives being taken around the world to meet climate commitments, the role of innovation, technology and finance to support the energy transition, and the opportunities and challenges of market-based regional cooperation and electricity trade which have the most significant implications for the future trajectory of the energy system in Central Asia. Other areas of interest include the creation of the Central Asian Regional Electricity Market, the development of renewable energy education, and the diversification of the workforce.

As part of the Forum, USAID will also launch the American Innovation Center for Central Asia, a virtual platform to promote the use of world best practices and modern technologies for the development and integration of renewable energy sources.

Over the past 30 years, the US government has worked with Central Asian countries on a range of activities related to economic growth, energy sector modernization and resilience, natural resource management, and climate change adaptation. USAID supported countries’ efforts to improve the performance of electric utilities, attract investment in clean energy, and expand cross-border electricity trade. In 2020, USAID launched the Power Central Asia Project, a US$40 million flagship five-year project organized around three main areas: energy sector recovery, clean energy investment, and cross-border trade.

Due to major changes in both the regional and global energy scene, the Central Asia Clean Energy Forum aims to bring together politicians, utility executives, representatives of leading technology companies and international investors to discuss energy strategies, new clean energy technologies and investments.