Launching Ceremony of Training Workshop on Marine Renewable Energy

Speech - Launching Ceremony of Training Workshop on Marine Renewable Energy

Monday 1^st September, at 10.00 a.m

·       The Chairperson and Members of the Board of Governors of the University of Technology, Mauritius;

·       Dr. Chittoo, Acting Director General of the University of Technology, Mauritius;

·       Professor John Ringwood, Head of the Centre for Ocean Energy Research, Ireland;

·       Dr. Bokhoree, Head of Research, Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Development;

·       Participants;

·       Ladies and gentlemen.

A very good morning to all of you.

I am honored to be present for the opening ceremony of the Training Workshop in Marine Renewable Energy which is the first of its kind in Mauritius.

I also wish to congratulate the University of Technology, Mauritius and the Centre of Applied Research in Sustainable Development for this initiative.

Allow me to welcome Professor John Ringwood who has especially made this trip to Mauritius to share his knowledge and expertise in the field of Marine Renewable Energy.

 
Well, as all of you know, it is the vision of the Prime Minister, the Honorable Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam to make Mauritius become a model of sustainable development. 

 As such, in 2013, the Government of Mauritius came forward with the Ocean Economy Roadmap, which provides a framework for the sustainable management and exploitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Mauritius. Mauritius has an EEZ of 2.3 million square km^, which has great potential of becoming an economic pillar in the coming years.

The roadmap is based on seven clusters comprising of various projects that aim at attracting foreign joint ventures to be implemented over specific time periods.  One of these clusters is to exploit renewable energy from the ocean. The target is to decrease the dependency of Mauritius on fossil fuels by the generation of about 35% of our electricity through the ocean.

 I seize this opportunity to thank the Mauritius Research Council which has been leading the Advisory Council on Marine Renewable Energy. It is to be highlighted that the Mauritius Research Council has indeed embarked on numerous projects pertaining to ocean economy since long. 

 It is in the same perspective, that today the Centre for Applied Research on Sustainable Development has come forward to contribute towards disseminating appropriate skills and knowledge on Marine Renewable Energy and the Ocean Economy of Mauritius. Undoubtedly, this project will definitely help the Island of Mauritius towards achieving sustainable development.  As re-iterated by the Honorable Prime Minister, the Government is here to provide necessary support towards harnessing the wealth of our ocean.

 Moreover, my Ministry has on-going initiatives towards fulfilling the ocean economy road map mostly through the inculcation and propagation of knowledge in the ocean sector.

Hence, it is a matter of pride today to see that the University of Technology, Mauritius is taking the lead in disseminating a training workshop in collaboration with the Centre for Ocean Energy Research, National University of Ireland together with esteemed institutions and Ministries of Mauritius. This Marine Renewable Energy workshop represents a primordial step towards the promotion of the Ocean Economy Roadmap.

 I have been through the topics to be discussed and I am sure that the participants of the training workshops will enhance their skills and knowledge.

I encourage the Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Development to organize more similar workshops in the fields of sustainable development thus helping towards the vision of having a Sustainable Mauritius Island.

On this note Ladies and Gentlemen, I declare this training workshop open.

Thank you!

 

Dr R. Jeetah                                                                                                                      Minister of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology