Caribbean energy ministers hosted by REEEP
Vienna, 17.09.2010 - Vienna International Secretariat
A delegation of high-ranking energy officials from Caribbean nations made a week-long tour of Europe, with an ambitious itinerary coordinated by REEEP. The Energy Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as representatives of CARICOM, the Caribbean Electric Utility Service Corporation and the Organization of American States spent five days in Austria and in Brussels, from 13 to 17 September.
 "Caribbean Ministers visit - 13 Sept 2010")
In Vienna, the visitors met with UNIDO’s Energy and Climate Change Branch, several private Austrian renewable energy and waste management companies, and visited power and biogas generation plants.
In Brussels the schedule included appointments with EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, and representatives of EuropeAid and DG Trade. In total, the programme was designed to give the visitors a good overview of European renewable energy and energy-related development policy, and the chance to forge useful contacts.
Back in Austria, the delegation rounded out the week with a meeting with the Austrian Development Agency and a thought-provoking excursion to Guessing, a region in southeastern Austria that aims for a self-sufficient energy supply based on locally available resources; an approach with great relevance for Caribbean nations.