In October 2025, the African Climate Foundation (ACF) deepened its engagement on South-South cooperation through a series of high-level dialogues and conferences held in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiaxing, and Suzhou. Executive Director Saliem Fakir, accompanied by our Special Advisor for International Partnerships, joined ministers of State, UN senior representatives, policymakers, financiers, business and scholars to advance discussions on green investment, energy transition, and sustainable development cooperation in the Global South.
At the 2025 Belt and Road Green Innovation Conference in Beijing, hosted by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Saliem spoke at a thematic dialogue on green infrastructure and transport. He shared ACF’s insights on China’s role in supporting green infrastructure and finance for Africa’s economic diversification and resilience. He also contributed to discussions on expanding the frontier of green finance at the Annual Meeting of the Green Investment and Financing Partnership organised by the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition and the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of MEE, met with former Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin of MEE, presented his latest book as a gift, and participated in the conference’s official video interview series.
In Shanghai, Saliem joined the Climate Philanthropy and Business International Dialogue, which convened philanthropic foundations, investors, financial institutions and international organizations to reflect on a decade of global collaboration in climate action. During a high-level dialogue on climate partnerships, he highlighted ACF’s role in mobilising philanthropic funding for climate investment and development, emphasizing Africa’s priorities in implementing the Paris Agreement. He also held bilateral meetings with the Shanghai Jinsinan Institute of Finance, the Green Finance Forum of 60, and the Carbon Neutrality Research Institute of Sequoia Fund China (Hongshan Capital China) to explore new opportunities for collaboration in green finance.
The visit continued with a dialogue and site tour at LONGI Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., where Saliem explored innovations in solar technology and toured the world’s first “lighthouse factory” in the photovoltaic industry — a model for sustainable industrial manufacturing. This was followed by discussions with Tongji University’s College of Environmental Science and Engineering and the UNEP-Tongji Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development, where Professor Li Fengting introduced a new initiative to be launched in 2026 together with UNEP, UN-Habitat: the Green Mining & Green Community Programme in Africa.
The final leg of the trip took place in Suzhou at the International Forum on Energy Transition, co-hosted by IRENA and China’s National Energy Administration. Speaking at a high-level dialogue on balancing energy transition and security, Saliem presented ACF’s approach to financing mechanisms that can simultaneously meet Africa’s energy access and decarbonisation needs. He also highlighted Africa’s progress in advancing clean cooking initiatives. Throughout the forum, he held bilateral meetings with the China-Africa Development Fund, the International Cooperation Department of China’s National Energy Administration, and the Secretariat of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, discussing potential collaboration on project-level financing, regional energy investment planning, and private sector exchanges.
In his welcome remarks, Administrator of China’s National Energy Administration, H.E. Wang Hongzhi, recognised the African Climate Foundation for its contributions to global energy transition efforts — naming ACF as the only non-governmental and African organization acknowledged for its support to the Global Clean Energy Partnership.
From Beijing to Suzhou, these engagements underscored the growing importance of Africa–China collaboration in shaping a sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient future. Through these platforms, ACF continues to elevate Africa’s voice in global green development and strengthen international partnerships that align innovation, finance, and policy for a just energy transition.
