UNIDO - Brazil Global Renewable Energy Forum (GREF 2008)
The Renewable Energy Global Forum held in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, from 18 to 21 May 2008, was jointly organized by UNIDO, the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy, Eletrobrás and Itaipú Bi-national. It brought together over 1,500 participants from a wide range of backgrounds, including 55 speakers from more than 40 countries, 80 accredited journalists and high-level governmental representatives in the field of energy and industry, mainly from Latin America and Africa. UN representatives, bilateral organizations, private sector, academia and regional and international non-governmental organizations also participated in the Global Forum.
- H.E. Mr. Edison Lobão, Minister of Mines and Energy, Brazil
- H.E. Mr. José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, Minister of Energy and Waters, Angola
- H.E. Ms. Ousmane Alioune Ngom, Minister of Mining and Industry, Senegal
- H.E. Ms. Haja Kabbah, Minister of Energy & Power, Sierra Leone
- H.E. Mr. Mohammed Malin Mahmud, Minister for Energy, Kenya
- H.E. Ms. Yadira García Vera, Minister of Basic Industry, Cuba
- H.E. Mr. Juan Manuel Presa Sague, Vice-Minister of Basic Industry, Cuba
- H.E. Mr. Aristides Fernández Zucco, Minister of Energy, Dominican Republic
- H.E. Mr. Jordy Herrera Flores, Vice-Minister of Energy Planning and Technical Development, Mexico.
The Global Forum became a unique opportunity to promote business, investment projects and technical cooperation activities around the world, increasing commercial networking and bringing to the international arena successful experience on renewable energies, particularly the ones promoted by Itaipú Bi-national and its Brazilian Director General, Mr. Jorge Samek.
One of the promising outcomes of the event was the collaboration between UNIDO and Itaipu to disseminate Itaipú’s best experiences in renewable energy, but also to promote the renewable energy technologies worldwide and establish a bridge between Brazil and Africa to interchange experiences and knowledge.