Egyptian National Experts Committee holds inaugural meeting providing insights and feedback on MENALINKS activities
On 18 August 2025, the Egyptian National Expert Committee convened virtually for its inaugural and first annual meeting, marking a significant milestone in the MENALINKS programme’s implementation in Egypt. The meeting brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to align on strategic priorities and provide guidance on programme activities.
The National Experts Committee ensures alignment across key stakeholders
The National Experts Committee (NEC) plays a vital role in ensuring alignment between diverse stakeholder groups and contributes to the coherence and credibility of the MENALINKS programme outputs. The committee serves as a strong platform for dialogue, feedback, and continuous improvement. Its ability to bridge the gap between stakeholders’ needs and proposed MENALINKS scope facilitates data sharing and institutional coordination, ensuring stakeholder active participation and ownership of programme impact.
The diversity of the National Experts Committee enriches discussions
The NEC is inclusive and multidisciplinary. Membership in the committee is on nomination-basis and aims to have a diverse and cross-sectoral representation, including governmental, regulatory, private sector, financing, academic, and national agencies stakeholders.
This diversity ensures that the committee reflects a broad range of perspectives, technical expertise, and institutional mandates. It enables MENALINKS to benefit from practical insights rooted in operational realities, while also aligning with strategic policy directions from governmental stakeholders. In addition, the presence of stakeholders from both the public and private sectors as well as the banking sector fosters balanced dialogue, encourages cross-sectoral collaboration, and strengthens the legitimacy and applicability of MENALINKS outputs. The inclusion of academic and consulting voices enriches the committee’s deliberations with evidence-based analysis and considerations.
Insightful feedback and discussions on Egypt’s energy transition
The committee convened for the first annual meeting, to discuss Egypt's ongoing energy transition efforts, with a particular spotlight on the MENALINKS project, and its two focus areas: Smart mini-grids and industrial flexibility. The meeting highlighted significant achievements, identified key challenges, and outlined a collaborative path forward to achieving the national ambitious renewable energy targets.
The meeting was opened with speeches from Dr. Ahmed Mohina (Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy) and Dr. Zoheir Hamedi (Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency), followed by presentations on the process for selecting the focus areas in Egypt, progress on smart mini-grids, and an overview of industrial flexibility by Guidehouse. The session was closed with a roundtable discussion moderated by RCREEE.
Conclusion
The committee's first meeting was a crucial step in formalizing the collaboration among Egypt's key electricity stakeholders. The discussions highlighted the significant progress made in both utility-scale and distributed renewable energy projects, as well as the pioneering work on smart mini-grids and industrial flexibility under the MENALINKS programme.
