By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) wants to invest in Pakistan’s renewable energy sector and is also interested in its conventional energy sources, a senior UAE official said on Thursday.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the president of COP28 and the UAE minister for industry and advanced technology, was speaking in Islamabad during a one-day visit to discuss climate change issues with Pakistani officials.
“We have been very keen to identify investment projects for our public and private sector organisations in the UAE, and work with our counterparts in Pakistan,” Al Jaber told Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s climate change minister.
“Whether it is in the conventional energy or in the alternative energy space, we are very keen to work with Pakistan in the renewable energy sector, and apply scale and capital in advancing renewable energy assets.”
He said the UAE was also open to discussions on supplying oil products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Pakistan, which relies heavily on imported fuels to meet its growing energy needs.
Rehman welcomed the UAE’s interest and cooperation on renewable energy, saying Pakistan’s government was committed to shifting to cleaner sources of power.
She said Pakistan was seeking investment in a 10,000 megawatt solar energy policy and wanted to expand its mangrove coverage by over 350,000 acres.
Rehman also highlighted the economic and environmental challenges Pakistan faces due to climate change, such as water scarcity, forest fires, glacier melting and extreme weather events.
“While countries have made and stated ambitions, they have no way to actually practically implement them.”
Al Jaber’s visit came at the invitation of Rehman ahead of the COP28 conference on climate change, which will be hosted by the UAE next year.
Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Al Jaber, the and congratulated him on his appointment as the head of the global climate conference, which will take place in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, and expressed confidence in his leadership.
Sharif also thanked the UAE for its support during Pakistan’s floods last year and for its vital role in helping Pakistan reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF.
The Prime Minister briefed Al Jaber on Pakistan’s efforts to attract foreign investment and develop solar energy projects, and offered his full support to the UAE for COP28.
Al Jaber conveyed the greetings of the UAE’s leadership and expressed interest in enhancing partnership with Pakistan in all domains, especially renewable energy.
He praised Pakistan’s active role in climate change diplomacy and said the UAE views Pakistan as an important partner in this field.
The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding for developing renewable energy projects in Pakistan, witnessed by PM Sharif and other officials.
Al Jaber is accompanied by Hana Sayed Mohammad Alhashimi, the UAE chief climate negotiator for both COP27 and COP28, Majid Al Suwaidi, the director-general and special representative of COP28, Ahmed Mohammed Al Kaabi, the assistant under-secretary for oil, gas and mineral resources from the UAE energy ministry, and Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi, the UAE ambassador to Pakistan.
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