APA-Pretoria (South Africa) The Netherlands and Denmark have signed a memorandum of understanding with South Africa under which they plan to set up a green hydrogen fund worth US$947 million for energy projects in the country, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said in Pretoria.
Ramaphosa was speaking when he welcomed Dutch Premier Mark Rutte and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark during a joint working visit to South Africa on Tuesday.
Ramaphosa said the visit by the two leaders and the setting up of the hydrogen fund was an opportunity to engage in ways that the three countries could collaborate to find solutions to this country’s energy challenges.
“You will be familiar with the pressure on our electricity network — and the impact it has on the South African economy,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “For this reason, your visit and our engagements on closer cooperation in the energy space are very opportune and important to us.”
He said renewable energy formed an increasingly important part of the country’s energy mix and was vital to both the achievement of a just energy transition and greater energy security.
“We hope to benefit from closer cooperation with your countries in this regard,” he said.
The president called on the two European delegations to deepen their relations with his country, saying the joint working visit was indicative of “our shared objectives in the areas in which we cooperate.”
NM/jn/APA