President Paul Kagame has called on world leader to take a global commitment that will make the Millennium Development Goals a success, so as to address the issues of energy imbalances between developed and developing countries.

Kagame made the remarks today while addressing the third World Energy Forum hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The forum was hosted in line with the 2012 United Nationals theme of “clean, safe and sustainable energy for all”.

“It has become clear that when the world acknowledges that there is a problem and acts to resolve it, the outcome is impressive. We need to address imbalances of energy between developed and developing countries and raise level of consumption and utilization. The world community should treat access to energy as a basic right essential in the development process.”

With over 1.3 billion people yet to have access to electricity, this year’s theme is a call on world leaders to ensure equitable access to energy. In Africa, only a quarter of the population has access to electricity.

Kagame stressed the point of the direct relationship between access to energy and socio-economic development and said that on practical solutions are needed to address the energy shortage in Africa and Rwanda.

Kagame proposed solutions such as:  the establishment of a globally accepted and respected consumption benchmark per capita; and need to establish a regulatory mechanism that can “curb or eliminate wasteful unsustainable consumption.

“This would reduce waste, increase efficiency and cut costs enabling wide access to developing countries.”

This year’s World Energy Forum brought together over two thousands delegates from across the world including heads of states, members of civil society and private sector. Over the next two days, the delegates are expected to share lessons and continue the conversation on the need practical measures and innovations to meet the energy challenge currently experienced worldwide.

The discussions planned include a renewed debate on nuclear energy, sharing on technological innovations, energy as an investment opportunity and the effect of climate change on energy policies.

A common point among all speakers was the need to increase investment in innovative infrastructure that have the potential of closing the gap in energy access. In this field, Africa has shown increased growth with a current 30% of $257 billion invested in the energy sector in Africa. However, as growing need on the ground show, the potential has yet to match the reality.

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