Statement by the President of the ISA Assembly Pralhad Joshi, at the Seventh Session of the International Solar Alliance Assembly
The Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly is in progress at the iconic Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today and we are graced by the presence of hon’ble ministers from 29 countries, present here with us today. This edition of the Assembly is important in several aspects. Today, the Republic of India and France were elected as its President and Co-president for a period of two years from 2024-2026. While Republic of India was the sole contender for the post of President, the Co-Presidency was contested between the Republic of France and Grenada, with France emerging victorious.
India’s election to the President’s post is a testament to the substantial and impactful work the country, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been doing over the years for the global good in advancing solar energy adoption across the globe and boosting investment in essential solar projects, including mini-grids and healthcare solutions. India and France, along with member countries, will aim to raise our ambitions and promise to make this decade count as we usher in a fresh wave of energy, determined to bring the power of solar to improve counties around the world in a way the world has never witnessed before.
The fresh elections to the post of President and Vice President gives both, India and France an opportunity to lead 120 countries again to build on the solid work that has already been done and more importantly leverage the gains we have made together, to now accelerate our mission towards a sustainable path. ISA Member Countries have also selected the third Director General of the Alliance. Ashish Khanna is the Director GeneralDesignate and will assume office in March 2025 when the tenure of the incumbent Director General, Dr Ajay Mathur, comes to a
close.
ISA initiated Demonstration Projects in 2020 to meet the needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Development States (SIDS). The aim was to exhibit solar technology applications that can be scaled up and build the capacity of Member Countries to replicate these solar-powered solutions. Today, 11 of these projects were dedicated to the people of the respective countries: Bhutan, Burkina Faso,
Cambodia, Cuba, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Samoa, Senegal, The Gambia, and Tonga. ISA remains committed to supporting governments in their efforts to scale up solar energy projects and improve the lives of their people.
The ISA acknowledges that accelerating adoption of advanced technologies relies on a skilled workforce that can design, install, and maintain them effectively. For advancing capacity building in its Member Countries, the ISA had launched the STAR-C initiative for setting up Solar Technology Application Resource Centres (STAR-Centres) in collaboration with the Republic of France. These national centers are equipped with specialized training facilities, tools, and structured learning modules designed to cultivate a highly skilled solar workforce.
To date, ISA has successfully established and operationalized STAR Centers in seven countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Cuba, Côte d’Ivoire, Kiribati, Ghana, and Bangladesh. Since their launch, these centers have already trained thousands of professionals in various aspects of solar energy, preparing them to contribute effectively to the sector’s rapid expansion. The Assembly will also consider other substantial matters, such
as work plans for coming year and include updates on ISA’s priority areas of work and projects. An important topic of discussion will be the guidelines for the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme, which provides for 10% to 35 % of the total solar project cost to be given as a grant for developing solar projects in LDCs and SIDS identified by the countries themselves, provided 90% of the project cost is locked in. Proposals from countries will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis until the annual budget provisions of ISA USD 1.5 million per year are available. The VGF can be availed for solar project.
The ISA Assembly will also consider a proposal for promotion of greater involvement of women in ISA’s initiatives, programs, and support activities, wherever feasible, across Member Countries. The policy highlights ISA’s commitment to gender integration, particularly through the ‘Solar for She’ initiative, to embed gender equality in ISA’s policies. I would especially like to appreciate the important role the media fraternity from around the world is playing in covering ISA’s activities. This will give us at ISA the impetus to accelerate our journey towards the 1000 strategy which aims to mobilise $1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030.
