Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail announced on Thursday the signing of an agreement with Masdar, a renewable energy developer based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to establish a solar energy project in central and southern Iraq.
Ismail, who is also chairman of the Iraqi Ministerial Council for Energy, attended the signing ceremony of the agreement between the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and Masdar to generate 2,000 megawatts, said a statement by the media office of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil.
"Iraq has a plan to replace 20 to 25 per cent of its energy produced by fossil fuels with clean energy," Ismail said.
He added that the agreement with Masdar is an important step for developing the clean energy investment sector and exploiting solar energy in Iraq.
For his part, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei confirmed his government's support for the cooperation with Iraq in establishing projects of the renewable energy generation sector, said the statement.
Suha al-Najjar, head of the Iraqi National Investment Commission, said that signing the contract with the UAE company is important as it will achieve the government's goals in obtaining clean energy at a lower cost.
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