A high-level Egyptian delegation from the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the Solar Energy Development Association (SEDA), and the Industrial Modernization Centre visited Tunisia to learn about its experience in solar heating projects. The Egyptian delegation visited a number of projects affiliated with the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company, as well as a number of sites that include solar heaters, and the National Agency for Energy Control. The Egyptian delegation held a meeting with the officials of Attijariwafa Bank, the partner in the Solar Energy Promotion programme. The bank's officials presented the financing program for solar energy and ways to finance projects, as well as procedures for arranging financing and the controls and criteria for project lending. The main objective of the Egyptian delegation's visit to Tunisia is to exchange experiences and knowledge and learn about the lessons learned from the solar heaters market in Tunisia. Egypt seeks to deepen the local manufacturing of solar energy technology and encourage its application in heating processes in the Egyptian industry. Amgad Al-Huwaihi, Head of Studies, Research and Tests Sector at the NREA, said that he visited the Tunisian Gas Company and the National Agency for Energy Control, and a number of facilities that implemented solar heating systems. He explained that the visit of the Egyptian delegation comes within the framework of the project "Uses of Solar Thermal Energy in Industrial Systems" implemented through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry and funded by the Global Environment Facility, which aims to prepare the Egyptian market for the dissemination of energy technologies, as well as deepening the local manufacturing of heater technology components, which supports the state's direction towards achieving the goal of 45% renewable energy in 2030.
