Germany supports expansion of IRENA international expertise

On Thursday, 19 September 2013 the Ambassador of Germany to the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Mr. Nikolai von Schoepff and the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) H.E. Mr. Adnan Z. Amin signed an agreement concerning the employment of German ‘Associate Experts’ at IRENA. Under the Agreement, Germany will propose and sponsor highly-qualified young German professionals to work at IRENA headquarters in Abu Dhabi for twelve months.

IRENA Director-General Amin and Ambassador von Schoepff hailed the signing of the Agreement as an important step towards enhancing IRENA’s capacity to accelerate the development and deployment of all forms of renewable energy.

IRENA Director-General Adnan Amin and German Ambassador Nikolai von Schoepff sign a cooperation agreement on “Associate Experts”

Germany is a founding member of IRENA as well as the host of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn. Through this agreement Germany will further contribute to strengthening the capacity of the Agency to fulfil its mandate, while also enhancing the expertise and experience of German early-career professionals.

IRENA works in countries across the world and in regions from Africa to the Pacific as well as in Latin America. The breadth and depth of the Agency’s work since its establishment in 2011, is largely due to the international expertise and experience of its staff. Actively engaging with 161 states, including 118 Member States and a further 43 signatories and states in accession, IRENA currently employs staff from 52 countries. Other IRENA Member States such as the United Arab Emirates, Japan and the Republic of Korea support the Agency through Loaned Officers and sponsoring internship positions. All staff of the Agency work as international civil servants and are therefore subject to the authority of the Director-General of IRENA.