Back to news
23 Jul 2025 | Press releases

International Solar Alliance and ICIMOD join hands to accelerate solar energy deployment in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Colombo, Sri Lanka – 17 July 2025

1 min Read

70% Complete
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between ICIMOD and ISA by Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD, and Ashish Khanna, Director General of ISA. Avishek Malla, Energy Specialist, represented Pema Gyamtsho at the event.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster cooperation in scaling up solar energy solutions across the common member countries.

The MoU formalises a strategic partnership aimed at promoting decentralised solar technologies, improving energy access in remote mountain communities, and supporting climate-resilient development in the common member countries. Through this collaboration, ISA – a treaty-based global intergovernmental organisation dedicated to advancing solar power adoption for a carbon-neutral future – and ICIMOD will work together to identify scalable solar interventions across sectors, co-develop proposals, projects and programmes, strengthen technical capacity and technology transfer, and facilitate knowledge sharing and advocacy among common member countries.

Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD, stated, “This partnership with ISA marks a significant step toward bringing clean, reliable, and context-specific solar solutions to the mountains. It reinforces our shared commitment to sustainable energy transitions and climate resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.”

Ashish Khanna, Director General of ISA, emphasised, “Our MoU with ICIMOD, signed at ISA’s 7th Regional Committee Meeting in Colombo, supports our strategy to move from Ambition to Action through Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) initiatives across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, beginning with the ISA Country Partnership Strategy for Bhutan as a pioneering model for mountain-focused renewable energy transitions, as part of our broader engagement.”

The partnership aligns with both organisations’ vision to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy, contribute to national climate goals and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and promote regional cooperation for a greener, more equitable future.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Neraz Tuladhar (Raz), Media Officer
Email: media@icimod.org

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up
30 Jul 2019 SERVIR-HKH
Regional drought outlook system for South Asia launched

Droughts do not harm immediately. Their impact on lives and productive assets is gradual, which is perhaps why they do ...

14 May 2026 Press releases
Four HKH countries recorded more than 10 major disasters in 2025

Kathmandu | 14 May 2026 – Four of the eight countries in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region experienced more ...

19 Sep 2024 Press releases
South Asian countries trial digital tool to streamline and strengthen biodiversity reporting

Kathmandu, 18 September - National biodiversity experts and officials from Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Cambodia have ...

10 Nov 2023 Press releases
Major new report confirms just 2°C of warming will trigger irreversible global damage from loss of Earth’s ice

State of the Cryosphere Report shows that 2°C of warming will lead to catastrophic loss of Earth’s ice sheets, ...

22 Mar 2025 Press releases
Urgent action needed on black carbon: a key driver of glacier melt and monsoon disruption

Figure 1 | Regional contribution to black carbon emissions with 60% of emissions in South Asia coming from residential combustion ...

5 Jan 2026 Press releases
Analysis finds multi-trillion-dollar climate financing gap in crucial Hindu Kush Himalaya region 

Paro, Bhutan, 5 January 2025 - The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), a vital water source for billions in the region, ...

16 May 2023 Press releases
New fire risk system rolled out as forest fires up by 76.7% in Nepal

Kathmandu, 15 May 2023: Forest fires across Nepal dramatically rose by 76.5% between January and April 2023 – when compared ...

27 Sep 2014 Press releases
Young professionals learn new ideas on enhancing adaptation in the mountains

Forty-seven young professionals convened at the headquarters of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal ...