Egypt, Japan talk renewables: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sat down with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday to discuss potential partnership agreements in the renewable energy sector among other areas, according to an Egyptian presidency statement. The two parties agreed to strengthen cooperation to establish a strategic partnership during Kishida’s three-day visit to Egypt, which will conclude tomorrow.

And there’s more cooperation incoming from Austria: Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer signed a letter of intent to explore potential cooperation on projects in the green hydrogen, desalination, agriculture, water resources management, and renewable energy sectors, according to a cabinet statement. Madbouly and Nehammer also inked two agreements to establish a company for the production of railway turnouts for Egypt’s first all-electric train between Austria’s Voestalpine and the Egyptian National Railways, according to a separate statement. An undisclosed sum of the company’s production output will be earmarked for export.

Ditto with the Qataris: Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait met with Qatari counterpart Ahmed Al-Kawari in Rabat, Morocco, to explore avenues of cooperation in a host of sectors, including potential in the renewable energy sector as Egypt looks to look in more foreign and private sector investment to boost its economy, a cabinet statement released yesterday said.

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UAE, Cambodia solidify renewables trade: Emirati Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi has finalized the terms of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak to boost bilateral trade including renewable energy, Wam reported on Thursday. The partnership would eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade while promoting the exchange of a diverse range of goods, services, and investments.

This could help the UAE overcome supply chain issues: Solar projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have all faced delays in recent years, partly due to difficulties procuring essential manufacturing components off the back of rising import costs and import restrictions.

But removing tariffs isn’t a W for all: The UAE has made efforts to manufacture solar panels locally, with three of the top solar manufacturing companies in the region being based in the UAE. A tariff waiver with Cambodia would lead to tough competition against the lower cost of importing.