Saudi Arabia, France agree to promote energy cooperation

Saudi Minister of Energy meets French Minister for Energy Transition

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, agreed with his French counterpart, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, to cooperate in the fields of hydrogen and electricity generated by renewable energy.

The two ministers concluded that the cooperation roadmap focuses on three pillars: technological development, business cooperation, and policies and regulation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

In order to maximize the use of local resources in both countries and to achieve flexibility and effectiveness of energy supplies, Saudi Arabia and France will work to strengthen their cooperation in developing and maintaining supply chains for the energy sectors.

Prince Abdulaziz and Pannier-Runacher also supported the creation of a “French-Saudi Task Force”, which aims to deliver desired outcomes from cooperation in hydrogen and other domains, the SPA added.

In addition, Saudi Arabia and France have committed to cooperating more closely in the areas of nuclear energy in a peaceful and safe framework, the management of radioactive waste, nuclear applications, and the advancement of human capabilities.

The two countries also agreed to cooperate on advancing climate technologies and solutions, including carbon capture, utilization and storage for hard-to-abate industries such as cement, aviation, marine, and petrochemicals, among others.