Minister of Energy: The Kingdom leads industrial solutions and faces climate challenges with excellence

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, stressed that the Kingdom is not just a recipient of others’ directives, but rather a pioneer in providing solutions that achieve industrial growth and face climate change challenges.

He explained that the Kingdom is involved in many initiatives, such as carbon capture, expanding the use of gas and renewable energy, which achieves tangible progress in reducing emissions and enhancing energy systems in line with the national industrial strategy.

Prince Abdulaziz stressed the importance of energy efficiency and security as vital elements in enhancing the strength of industries and their ability to compete in the global economy, in light of the major challenges facing the global economy, whether in terms of food security or geopolitical challenges. He stressed that the most prominent challenge is related to supply chains, which particularly affect the least developed countries.

The Minister of Energy indicated that these countries may be the biggest victims of these challenges, as they may be forced to repeat old exploitation experiences if they do not take care to protect their mineral resources and exploit them in a way that serves the interests of their people, instead of repeating previous experiences that harmed them.

These statements came during a speech delivered by Prince Abdulaziz on the sidelines of the second edition of the Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum (MIPF) in the capital, Riyadh.

The Minister of Energy added that the Kingdom always seeks to enhance cooperation and cohesion between various parties, through comprehensive thinking on problems and collective work to avoid mistakes, and benefit from the experiences of others. He stressed the importance of partnership to achieve mutual benefit instead of boasting or greed.

He explained that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched several initiatives to address global challenges in the fields of energy and industry, most notably enhancing natural gas production and expanding the use of diverse energy resources, stressing the importance of exploiting all types of energy while taking into account climate change and mitigating its effects, including reducing oil and greenhouse gas emissions.

Prince Abdulaziz stressed that the Kingdom is working to develop policies and regulations that enable the adoption of new energy sectors such as clean energy, noting that the global economy will need all types of renewable energy in light of population growth and increasing carbon emissions.

In concluding his speech, the Prince questioned the global outlook towards emerging continents such as Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, criticizing the assumption that these regions will remain as they are without striving to achieve the aspirations of their peoples for growth and improving their well-being. He stressed that these peoples will make great efforts to change their reality and achieve their future aspirations.