Minister of Foreign Affairs Tilak Marapana, attended the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), which commenced under the patronage of Federal Foreign Office and Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany on Tuesday 16 April 2018.
In recent years, the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue has become a leading international forum for high-level policymakers, industry and civil society to come together to discuss viable concepts for the ongoing transformation of the energy sector and the energy transition, especially about a safe, affordable and environmentally responsible global energy transition.
The two-day conference, which was held under the motto “towards a global energy transition – (Energiewende)”, brought together stakeholders and decision makers representing 90 countries, including more than 30 Ministers to discuss ways that national governments and energy sector stakeholders can contribute to meeting the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana was invited to participate in a panel discussion on ‘“Contribution of renewables to energy security”’, moderated by Dr Patrick Graichen, Director, Agora Energiewende. During the discussion, Minister Marapana stated that ‘‘we do realize the need to switchover to renewable energy for future generations. But, unfortunately we do not have adequate finance to engage in this exercise rapidly’’. Speaking further, the Foreign Minister highlighted that how Sri Lanka is affected, particularly in agricultural progress, due to climate change though it is not an industrialized country. Noting the need of resources, Minister Marapana urged the international community, especially industrialized countries and funding agencies, to support Sri Lanka and equatorial countries in this endeavour.
Dr Kocho Angjushev, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic Affairs, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mohammad H A H Boshehri, Undersecretary, Ministry of Electricity and Water, Kuwait, Giorgi Chikovani, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Georgia, Said Hidam, Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Economic Affairs, Egypt and U Win Khaing, Union Minister, Ministry of Electricity and Energy, Myanmar were among the other Speakers who participated in this panel discussion.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi accompanied Minister Marapana to the Dialogue. The delegation of Sri Lanka was successful in meeting several key government officials and representatives from the industry, who commended the positive developments in Sri Lanka in overcoming challenges in the energy sector.
