The UAE and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement to start constructing the first phase of a 200 MW solar plant in the Central Asian country, state news agency Wam reports. No details about the project’s investment size or involved parties were given. The signing came among a slew of agreements between the two countries in various sectors including tourism, agriculture, and technology.

Is this the same plant Masdar was eyeing? UAE’s Masdar had also expressed interest in building a 200 MW solar plant back in April, Kyrgys national news agency Kabar wrote, along with inking “initial pacts'' with Kyrgyzstan’s Energy Ministry to look into renewable energy projects — including floating solar and hydropower projects amounting to a capacity of 1 GW.

Masdar has been expanding in Central Asia: The company signed a joint development agreement with Turkmenenergo State Power Corporation last month to build a 100 MW solar plant in Turkmenistan. Back in September, Masdar achieved financial close on Central Asia’s largest wind farm in Uzbekistan, boasting a capacity of 500 MW.

And it ties in with the GCC widening its renewables foothold in Asia: Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power also signed quite a few renewable energy agreements across the continent. It signed a non-binding MoU for a 1 GW solar project in Bangladesh last month and renewable energy battery storage and green hydrogen facilities in Indonesia. Saudi Aramco is also conducting feasibility studies for a hydrogen and ammonia value chain in Indonesia.