German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to visit East Africa on Thursday where he hopes to forge energy and climate partnerships, particularly with Kenya.
A delegation of industrialists will accompany Olaf Scholz when he visits a geothermal power plant near Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kenya is a leading country in the field of clean energy, as 90% of its needs are covered by renewable energy.
German government sources said Tuesday that the European country views the great potential for cooperation in renewable energy with Nairobi, knowing that Kenya is already Germany’s main trading partner in East Africa.
In addition, Germany is tempted by geothermal energy, which is the strong point of Kenya and can produce green hydrogen, and Germany could import from Kenya.
It should be noted that geothermal energy allows the production of electricity thanks to the very hot water in the subsoil.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has pushed Berlin, which was dependent on Russian gas, to diversify its energy supply sources.
Olaf Scholz will start his visit to the region with Ethiopia, where relations are more complex.
Scholz is expected to meet Abiy Ahmed on Thursday to “acknowledge and support the progress made in the peace process”.