India, France re-elected ISA president, co-president

India and France have been re-elected president and co-president, respectively, of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a global coalition that seeks to fast-track the transition towards widening access to cleaner energy.

While India was the sole contender for the post of president, the co-presidency was contested between France and Grenada, a government statement said.

The elections were held at the seventh session of the ISA general assembly held in New Delhi, with the fresh terms of ISA president and co-president lasting until 2026.

The general assembly also named Ashish Khanna as director general-designate of the coalition, which has 120 members and signatory countries. Khanna will replace outgoing director-general Ajay Mathur, whose tenure ends on 14 March 2025.

As director general of ISA, Khanna will play a key role in advancing the $1 trillion investment goal in solar by 2030 while reducing technology and financing costs.

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 in a statement.

ISA will benefit from participating in international fora, where the motivation should be twofold: to explore collaborations, work together, and learn from each other’s experiences, he said, adding that he “looks forward to building on what is working well and grooming existing partnerships.”

As head of the World Bank’s west and central Africa program, Khanna led Mission 300, aimed at providing energy to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. Khanna previously led a program in the MENA region, securing $20 billion in energy investment for Egypt, the statement said.

In India, as lead energy specialist at World Bank, Khanna worked with the ministry of new and renewable energy on policy and regulatory reforms to ensure private sector engagement in the solar energy sector.

Outgoing director general Mathur had led the alliance since 2021 during which he helped increase the number of member and signatory countries to 103 and 17, respectively.

ISA is the first international intergovernmental organization headquartered in India. In 2017, 15 had countries signed and ratified the ISA framework agreement.