The African Union Commission has confirmed it will be an official partner of the 2015 World Hydropower Congress in Beijing.

The event takes place on 19–21 May and will feature a special session on the future of hydropower in Africa, which will be co-convened by IHA and the African Union Commission.

Dr Elham Ibrahim, the AU’s commissioner for infrastructure and energy, said: “We are very pleased to announce this collaboration with the International Hydropower Association at a time when energy and infrastructure will be crucial to meeting Africa's vision for the next half century.

"Hydropower is central to our targets for growth, yet around 92 per cent of the hydropower potential across Africa has not been developed. Achieving this vision will not be possible without consensus between governments, industry and civil society, so the World Hydropower Congress will give us a great opportunity to further the dialogue."

You can read a blog post by Dr Elham Ibrahim on the role of hydropower in Africa here.

Richard Taylor, chief executive of IHA, said: “Africa will be a key market for new hydropower development between now and 2050, so we are delighted to strengthen our collaboration with the African Union.

“Our focus will be on how Africa’s great untapped resources can be utilised in a sustainable way to bring hundreds of millions of people out of energy poverty.”

You can find out more about the World Hydropower Congress here.