The International Solar Alliance will become a treaty-based international intergovernmental organisation on December 6 this year, according to Interim Director-General, Upendra Tripathy.

Tripathy was speaking at a curtain raiser for the founding ceremony of the (ISA) in Bonn, Germany.

In an official statement, he said 44 countries have already signed the ISA treaty. Tripathy also spoke on the ISA’s three ongoing programmes: facilitating affordable finance for solar, scaling up solar applications for agriculture, and promoting solar mini-grids in member nations.

The discussions also covered the ISA’s Common Risk Mitigation Mechanism (CRMM) project, aimed at de-risking investments in solar energy projects in developing countries and, thereby, encouraging flow of funds into the sector, the statement added.

Speaking at the event, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Anand Kumar, said he hoped that in the spirit of affirmative action, developed countries will earmark a percentage of their Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) towards solar energy projects in developing countries.

He suggested that multilateral development banks and other financial institutions provide wholehearted support for solar projects through low-cost finance, and research & technology institutions worldwide try their utmost to bring the cost of solar power and storage within the reach of all, the statement added.

Kumar also invited corporates and other institutions to support solar energy development and deployment.

Also speaking at the event, Ségolène Royal, Special Envoy for the implementation of the ISA, Government of France, emphasised upon five key points to accelerate global solar deployment: setting concrete goals, developing and leveraging common tools, enhancing projects, establishing decentralised PV solutions, and forging new partnerships that capitalise on complementary capabilities.

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