The council elected Kenred Dorsett, Minister of Environment and Housing of the Bahamas as Chair of the meeting, and Ethiopia as vice-chair.

More than 300 high-level government representatives from 96 countries – the highest number of countries ever represented at a council – gathered on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi to attend the eleventh meeting of the Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

The council elected Kenred Dorsett, Minister of Environment and Housing of the Bahamas as Chair of the meeting, and Ethiopia as vice-chair.

“Irena as a global organisation has made tremendous contributions to the advancement of renewable energy, notwithstanding its relatively short history,” said Dorsett.

“The Bahamas has relied heavily on Irena to chart its renewable energy future. We look forward to the deliberations over the next few days as countries come together to guide the work of the agency.”

Following the election, Irena’s Director-General Adnan Z. Amin, presented a report on the agency’s work. “A lot has happened since Irena’s establishment five years ago,” said Amin. ”

Composed of 21 Irena Members, the council meets twice annually to facilitate cooperation among members, oversee implementation of the Irena work programme and complete substantive preparations for the agency’s annual assembly.

For more about IRENA: www.irena.org