The Abuja leg of the Netherlands Nigeria Clean Tech Event took place on the 7th of June at the Transcorp Hilton,
Abuja.
The event was organized by the Dutch government, in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The purpose of the event was to foster collaboration in achieving Nigeria’s ambition to transition to a green economy by partnering in the areas of solar energy, climate-smart agriculture, waste recycling and regreening the Sahel.
The Vice-Minister for Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Ms. Hanneke Schuiling, opened the event and stated that climate change is affecting us all, but in different ways.
She also stated that Dutch companies and
research institutes are keen to engage with Nigeria to support the solar energy sector. She further explained that
solar energy is one of Nigeria’s most important renewable energy sources.
The reduced cost of solar panels and
batteries has made a transition to solar energy more feasible for Nigeria and it is no surprise that Nigeria is one of
the fastest growing markets for solar energy around the world.
The event was also attended by Dr. Eniola Ajayi, the Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
Samuela Isopi, Ambassador of the EU to Nigeria, Wouter Plomp, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to
Nigeria, Michel Deelen, Netherlands Consul- general as well as representatives of stakeholders of Dutch clean technologies.
In closing the event, The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands mentioned that he was very happy that the event had exceeded his most optimistic expectations as the objective of the event had been achieved.
He emphasized that the event was only just the beginning and closed with a quote by Wangari Maathai, the famous
late Kenyan environmental activist: ‘The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If
we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves’.
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