India-born Ashish Khanna was selected as the next director general of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the 120-member country umbrella body aimed at promoting solar power as a sustainable and cheap alternative to provide energy security worldwide.
ISA’s 7th Assembly is presently being held in Delhi, with energy ministers from 29 member countries in attendance.
Khanna has 26 years of energy sector experience in 15 countries in South Asia, West Asia and North Africa. He is presently head of the World Bank’s West and Central Africa Program, leading the Mission 300 initiative which is aiming to provide energy access to 300 million people in Africa. Earlier he worked as the Lead Energy Specialist in India at the World Bank, co-ordinating with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy on policy and regulatory reforms to enable private sector engagement in solar.
The outgoing Director General, Ajay Mathur, also from India, wished his successor luck. “I am confident you will bring unique energy, vision, and passion to this office and role. Your leadership will undoubtedly steer this Alliance to new heights, building on the progress achieved while carving your legacy. The challenges ahead are great, but so are the opportunities,” he said.
Khanna will take over as Director General in March, once Mathur’s tenure gets over. “The focus has to shift from ‘what’ to ‘how’ as most countries are aware of what needs to be done, but require assistance in reaching those goals,” Khanna said, after he was elected in the inaugural session at the ISA Assembly in Delhi on Monday morning. He added that ISA’s motivation should be twofold: deepening capacities; enabling private sectors.
