His Excellency Eng. Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), delivered an intervention at the G20 Energy Transition Ministerial Meeting, held under the G20 Presidency of South Africa, the first on African soil.
In his remarks, HE Hamel commended South Africa for its leadership and vision in placing Africa’s energy priorities at the centre of the global dialogue. He emphasised that energy is indispensable for sustainable development, particularly in a world where demand continues to grow alongside the aspirations of expanding populations, most notably in Africa, a continent rich in resources but still burdened by acute energy poverty.
HE Hamel stressed that addressing both development and climate objectives requires all energy sources and technologies, guided by the principles of national circumstances and differentiated capabilities. He highlighted the pivotal role of natural gas, available, affordable, and flexible, in enabling power generation, industrialisation, clean cooking, and fertiliser production, as well as in complementing renewable energy and supporting energy security.
He warned, however, that many developing countries, especially in Africa, face a widening investment gap in gas infrastructure due to limited access to affordable finance and elevated borrowing costs. To bridge this gap, he called for a more inclusive and development-oriented financial system capable of mobilising the estimated USD 1 trillion needed for Africa’s gas value chain by 2050.
The Secretary General further cautioned that the extraterritorial reach of certain regulations risks constraining investment and trade, underlining the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and technology transfer to ensure balanced and equitable progress. He also highlighted capacity building and local content development as key enablers of inclusive growth and human capital empowerment.
Concluding his intervention, HE Hamel reaffirmed the GECF’s full support for the priorities of the South African G20 Presidency, energy security, inclusive transitions, and African interconnectivity, which are in full alignment with the principles of the Algiers Declaration of the 7th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government.