Remarks by Chargé d'Affaires Virginia Blaser at the Signing of the U.S. Trade & Development Agency Grant Agreement with the Central Electricity Board

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Sir Harilall Vaghjee Hall Port Louis

Dr. The Honorable Rashid Beebeejaun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Renewable Energy and Public Utilities
Mr. Patrick Assirvaden, Chairman, Central Electricity Board
Distinguished Guests

It is a great pleasure for me to be here at the signing of this grant agreement between our two governments. Under this agreement, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency or USTDA will provide US$325,000 (approx. 11 million rupees) to the Central Electricity Board (CEB) to finance a feasibility study on the proposed CEB Transmission Grid and Transformer Network Monitoring System Project in Mauritius.

As you know, a high-level U.S. Government delegation, led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa Florizelle Liser, was in Mauritius in April to hold discussions with the Government of Mauritius in the context of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, commonly known as TIFA.  During the visit, the Board of Investment made a presentation of the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) Project and invited the United States to participate in the implementation of the project. 

I am very pleased to note that in less than a month, we are proceeding with the signing of a grant agreement that will improve energy efficiency in Mauritius, one of the key components of the Maurice Ile Durable project. 

Considering the MID project’s emphasis of energy efficiency and renewable energy, it is clear that the United States and Mauritius share common goals when it comes to energy policy.  In a recent speech on clean energy, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to a comprehensive energy plan that will reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, cut carbon pollution by 80 percent by 2050, and help win the race toward clean energy technology. With the depletion of the world’s oil reserves, the development of clean, renewable sources of energy is the growth industry of the 21st century.
 
President Obama said: “The choice we face is not between saving our environment and saving our economy – it’s a choice between prosperity and decline….The nation that leads the world in creating new sources of clean energy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.”

The President’s Budget will invest $15 billion dollars each year for 10 years to develop clean energy -- including wind power and solar power, geothermal energy and clean coal technology.  As the United States leads the global economy in developing new sources of energy, we would like to explore further collaboration with Mauritius in clean energy technology, particularly with regard to wind and solar power. 

Coming back to today’s grant agreement, in addition to making recommendations concerning the implementation of a software monitoring system, the feasibility study will evaluate the current condition of the CEB’s transmission network with emphasis on substation transformers.  This analysis will provide a basis for planning equipment replacement and upgrades, needed to maintain efficient grid operation.

When completed, this project will help Mauritius to keep up with growing demand for power, with a view to the massive infrastructure projects that are scheduled for implementation in the coming years. 

This is not the first time USTDA has provided assistance to the Government of Mauritius.  Since 1998, The U.S. Government, through USTDA alone, has provided various Mauritian government agencies a total of $1.8 million dollars (approx. 61 million rupees) for technical assistance.  In addition, USTDA has sponsored several orientation visits, training programs, and seminars to the United States and elsewhere for both public and private sector representatives.

I would like to mention here that in addition to USTDA, a number of other U.S. agencies have been and are still providing specific assistance to Mauritius in sectors that cut across the entire Mauritian economy, including agribusiness, textiles, Intellectual Property Rights, Information and Communication Technology, educational and cultural exchanges, financial investigative techniques, democracy and human rights, community development, empowerment of women, maritime security, and military training. 

We are working together on many fronts, and we are pleased today to add sustainable energy to the list.

The U.S. Government looks forward to continuing this great partnership and commends the Government of Mauritius for actively promoting energy efficiency and the development of renewable and clean energy.  We share with all of you the hope that the future will be both prosperous and sustainable, and we are pleased that the step we take today will be one of many toward that goal.

Thank You.