Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan chaired successful discussions with a Masdar delegation on Tuesday, during his participation at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), according to a State House press release on Wednesday.

The meeting, which was held with the Masdar chief green hydrogen officer, Mohammad Abdelqader El Ramahi and the senior manager of project management services, Simon Bräunigerr, focused on the way forward for the implementation of a comprehensive Seychelles Electricity Generation Plan.

"This is in line with the growth of the Seychelles economy and the increased need to implement an electricity generation plan that will meet the long-term demands associated with the rise in economic activities whilst also addressing the nationally determined contributions (NDC) commitments made by Seychelles government at COP27," said State House.

During the meeting, the Seychelles delegation proposed to Masdar several projects for consideration that will get the island nation on its path to "strengthening its role further in the global combat against climate change," said State House.

Various key renewable energy projects were proposed for the islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. These include renewable photovoltaic (PV) projects in the form of agrivoltaic PV, floating PV systems and a PV plant mounted on elevated structures as well as others.

The Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) "also recognises the need to transit to a cleaner fuel in the short to medium term, hence discussions with the Masdar team also revolved around potential conventional generation projects such as transitioning to hydrogen," according to the statement.

Following the talks held in Abu Dhabi, confirmation of the feasible projects will be approved and agreements between the PUC and Masdar are expected be drawn up.

Masdar is the UAE government's renewable energy company based in Abu Dhabi, also known as the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.