DD-14. The countdown continues to roll on. Scheduled for 27 November to 2 December 2024 at the Parc des Expositions in Abidjan, the deadline is drawing closer for the first edition of the Salon International des Ressources Extractives et Énergétiques (SIREXE). The SIREXE Organising Committee would like to wish the traditional akwaba to the three types of guests expected: institutional players, professionals from the extractive and energy sector and the general public.
For the SIREXE organising committee, the challenge is ambitious: "A rich and varied programme, designed to meet the expectations of all participants: decision-makers, entrepreneurs, students and families". The event therefore aims to be a crossroads for exchanges, business opportunities and discoveries for professionals, institutions and the general public.
Two images sum up the SIREXE as planned by the event's organisers. Under the flashbulbs of image hunters and reporters from the local, pan-African and international media, the President of the Republic, Alassane Ouattara, accompanied by members of the Ivorian government and personalities from the twenty or so invited countries, symbolically cut the ribbon marking the launch of the event. In T-shirts, jeans and trainers, around a hundred pupils and students took part in the careers day dedicated to the extractive and energy sectors.
An institutional event
With around twenty official delegations from African and European countries, SIREXE has a programme tailored to this institutional aspect. " There will be sessions dedicated to the guest countries, who will share their experiences and how they have succeeded in reconciling extractive and energy industries with sustainable development. We will also have cross-cutting sessions, because SIREXE is bringing together the three sectors for the first time. ... We will also have sectoral sessions, to address specific issues." said the spokeswoman, Mireille Aka.
Inaugural ceremony, ministerial conferences, country showcases, ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum, closing ceremony: the SIREXE programme includes time slots tailored to institutional imperatives. These highlights should lay the foundations for future collaboration between countries, companies and players in the sector.
In an extractive and energy industry that is undergoing profound changes as a result of the energy transition and the redefinition of the map of extractive and energy resources according to ecological criteria, West African countries that are discovering their resources must make strategic choices. Decisions that will enable them to strike a balance between the socio-economic and environmental challenges facing their resources. SIREXE brings added value to this objective, especially as its theme focuses on sustainable development.
A strategic space for professionals in the sector
For entrepreneurs and companies outside the extractive and energy sectors, SIREXE also represents business opportunities. '' You really need to come and meet the heads of more than 300 companies, the more than 100 CEOS, the decision-makers. It's not just for professionals and technicians in the sector, it's about business opportunities. That's what SIREXE Business is all about."says Augustin AkouManaging Director of 2A Consulting, who was responsible for organising the event.
Mining, oil and energy sector conferences, as well as cross-industry conferences linked to exhibitions and stand visits, will provide sector professionals with the opportunity to keep abreast of the latest innovations, regulations and technical and technological trends. A sector watch in miniature that could lead to benchmarking, MoU signatures and partnership agreementss.
Spread over four days, with some thirty conferences led by national, sub-regional and international political decision-makers and key players from the private sector on the central theme: Sustainable development of the extractive and energy industries: what policies and strategies? SIREXE will enable professionals in the sector to think about how to take better account of social, economic and environmental imperatives in the exploitation of extractive and energy resources.
The programme also includes a golf tournament and the final of the hackathon competition dedicated to innovative solutions to the sector's problems.
Interactive activities for the general public
"We also have SIREXE aimed at the general public, it's where we also invite families, young people, everyone, the general public. It's an opportunity to discover the fascinating world of oil, energy and mining." reveals, Augustin Akou."For young students, it's an opportunity to come and discover the jobs in the sector. We'll have pavilions specially for the trades with speakers who will tell them exactly in the fields of mining, oil and energy, what the opportunities are in terms of training, in terms of careers" he adds.
A SIREX '' general public'' which will also be marked by a visit to the village of jewellers, blacksmiths and other local craftsmen, workshops on energy saving and the use of domestic gas, immersion in a solar house as well as a host of interactive activities for the general public. The aim of the show is to provide information for the general public, and to raise awareness and educate them about energy and environmental issues.
Conceived and designed for institutional players, professionals in the sector and the general public, the SIREXE programme is in line with this approach. It's an ambitious gamble, all the more so as the dozen or so existing events in Africa linked to these sectors, taken separately, focus on the professional aspect. With such a diversified programme, SIREXE intends to make its mark and pave the way for a new dynamic in the continent's energy and extractive industries.
