ECONOMIC FORUM WORLD ECQNOMIC FORUM

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Minister of Energy, held bilateral meetings with Kadri Simson, the European Union's Commissioner for Energy, during the World Economic Forum held in Riyadh in late April. Their conversations centered on the potential for collaboration in energy and clean technologies, aiming to strengthen bilateral relations and advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the outcomes of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition, both parties have reiterated their joint objectives, aligning the Kingdom and the European Union in their steadfast commitment to expediting investment in renewable energy, fostering collaboration in electrical interconnection, and seamlessly integrating renewable energy sources into power grids. This integration is to be achieved through the development of electrical infrastructure, employing a spectrum of solutions. 

 

These solutions include, but not limited to, demand management, smart grid implementation, network flexibility enhancement, as well as investments in hydrogen and clean technology sectors, encompassing carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies. These endeavors entail enhancing industrial partnerships within these sectors and safeguarding the reliability and accessibility of energy markets to ensure the provision of supplies at reasonable costs.

In this regard, and based on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, and the outcomes of the recent Conferences of the Parties (COP), the Kingdom and the European Commission concluded their discussions in light of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kingdom and the European Union for cooperation in the field of energy, aiming to achieve their ambitions to accelerate the pace of joint efforts to exploit the economic opportunities provided by the transformations witnessed by Saudi Arabia and the European Union in the field of energy. he MoU encompasses various facets within the energy sectors, where the essence of energy transition resides, fundamentally furnishing a robust framework upon which both parties can depend to guide and enhance investments in the energy and clean technology sectors.