The Austrian Ambassador to South Africa and nine other Southern African countries including Botswana, H.E. Romana Königsbrun, brings diplomatic and sustainability experience to the 2024 SADC Sustainable Energy Week.
As former Director of Human Resources at Austria’s Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs as well as a former Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nationals Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, her understanding of regional dynamics, both in Europe and in Southern Africa and beyond and her strong commitment to international cooperation makes her a valuable contributor to discussions on sustainable energy.
The Republic of Austria, via its Austrian Development Agency ADA, has been a long-time supporter of renewable energy projects in the region, most prominently through SOLTRAIN capacity-building within solar thermal energy. Austria also fosters collaboration on energy security and a just and equitable transition via programs including the Global Energy Transformation (GET) Program and the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers (GN-SEC), which comprises ten centers and covers 120 countries in the Global South, including most least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS).