Recent research conducted by the Paulson Institute shows that China is playing an increasingly important role in the expansion of "green" finance throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)... China is becoming a driving force for the region's green transition, especially in clean energy.

Not surprisingly, many Middle East and North African countries have combined their sustainable development strategies with China's Belt and Road Initiative to harness the expertise of Chinese companies as well as financing to promote green economic growth...

Through targeted strategic investments, China has been able to take stakes in many major renewable energy projects in the region...

An early investment by the Silk Road Fund, set up by the government to promote the Belt and Road initiative, was the purchase of a 49 per cent stake in ACWA Renewable Energy Holding, the Renewable Energy arm of Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power. The deal makes the fund a major shareholder in a portfolio of clean energy projects that adds a significant 1,668MW of generating capacity and provides access to projects in the Middle East and North Africa.

... ACWA Power and Silk Road join forces... Cooperation with Harbin Electric Company... Project developer of dubai 2400MW Hassyan Clean Coal Power Plant... This is the first clean coal plant in the GCC region.

... Harbin Electric group also works with GENERAL Electric as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Funding for the project is provided by industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and silk Road Fund.

China has an expanding portfolio of clean energy projects in the region. ACWA Power has been involved in major projects such as the world's largest concentrated solar farm, the Noor Solar Farm in Morocco, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), This is one of the largest renewable energy projects in the world based on the independent generator model...

More recently, in April 2019, Shanghai Electric Group signed an EPC agreement for the DEWA (Dubai Water and Power Authority) 700MW Centralized Solar Project (CSP)...

... As governments across the Middle East and North Africa... With the diversification of its energy mix as a core part of its economic growth strategy, China's demand for financing, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, handover and development services will continue to be high...