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
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 ...

Strengthening climate services in South Asia

South Asia is highly vulnerable to weather and climate impact such as flooding, droughts and cyclones. In the past two ...

1 Sep 2025 Press releases
Nepal initiates development of National Air Quality Management Action Plan

Kathmandu, 1 September 2025 - The Department of Environment (DoEnv), Government of Nepal, in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain ...

3 Aug 2020 Press releases
HKH post COVID-19 resilient recovery plans must consider mountain realities

As governments around the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region reel from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic immediate, medium- and ...

22 Dec 2020 KDKH
Stakeholders call for more transboundary cooperation to address disaster risk in the Koshi River basin

Earlier this year, the South Asian floods of 2020 were declared a humanitarian crisis when millions across the subcontinent were ...

22 Aug 2024 Press releases
ADA and ICIMOD Forge Strategic Partnership to Support Mountain Development Initiatives

Vienna, Austria – 22 Aug 2024 – The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ...

5 Feb 2024 Press releases
Scientists have declared the Hindu Kush Himalaya, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, a ‘biosphere on the brink’

B-roll, spokespeople available ICIMOD experts call for bold action and urgent finance to prevent collapse of nature in High Mountain Asia ...

5 Sep 2025 Press releases
Regional cooperation key to unleashing power of renewables, major report finds

Regional cooperation in trade, infrastructure, technology and skills crucial for states to meet surging demand ...