Arab Finance: The General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and Kenya explored cooperation on green manufacturing, renewable energy projects, and sustainable development across Africa, as per a statement.

SCZONE Chairman Moustafa Shaikhoun held talks with Ali Daud Mohamed, Kenya’s special envoy for climate change and senior adviser to the Executive Office of the President, alongside a Kenyan delegation.

The discussions covered opportunities to exchange expertise and develop joint initiatives supporting Africa’s transition to cleaner energy.

Shaikhoun said that the SCZONE is working to localize entire green energy value chains and secure clean energy solutions to strengthen African partnerships.

He outlined the zone’s efforts to establish domestic value chains for solar and wind energy systems while accelerating green fuel production.

Shaikhoun also highlighted the Egypt Green Hydrogen project in Ain Sokhna, Africa’s first integrated green hydrogen plant, with the hydrogen produced by the facility intended for use in renewable ammonia production at Fertiglobe’s existing plant in the area.

Fertiglobe won the first H2Global pilot auction for renewable ammonia, securing a contract with a maximum value of €397 million to supply European ports from 2027. The company subsequently signed a 20-year ammonia offtake agreement with the Egypt Green Hydrogen project.

Alongside these projects, SCZONE was selected as one of 50 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Model Zone Partners by the Global Alliance of Special Economic Zones (GASEZ), whose members represent more than 7,000 special economic zones. The selection criteria included support for sustainable development, investment in SDG-related sectors, adherence to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, and links with local economies.

Mohamed praised SCZONE’s industrial and logistics development, investment attraction, infrastructure, and policies that support the business environment, depicting Egypt’s green transition experience as a model that could benefit other African countries.

The Kenyan envoy also affirmed his country’s interest in strengthening cooperation with SCZONE and drawing on its experience to support economic integration among Global South countries and environmental sustainability across Africa.