(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Cairo, November 11, 2022, SPA – Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef stressed the pivotal role Saudi Arabia plays in supporting the global transition to clean energy. This came during his participation in a dialogue session entitled“Essential Minerals: A Decisive Issue”, which was held today within the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, which is being held on the sidelines of COP27.
Al-Khorayef said:“Given the abundance of untapped mineral resources in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia has the necessary geological resources to contribute to building a future based on clean energy, as international estimates indicate the need to raise the current production of minerals that are included in clean energy technologies to five folds by the year 2050, which underscores the need to address the issue of mineral supply now.”
Saudi Arabia seeks to achieve zero carbon neutrality by 2060, to be a world leader in the renewable energy market, as the Kingdom works to take advantage of its mineral resources to build integrated supply chains central to the circular economy of carbon, including the production of green steel and green hydrogen and the manufacture of batteries of electric vehicles.
The minister added: 'The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources was established in the Kingdom to ensure that our country benefits from its national resources so that we avoid the challenge faced by many other countries, as they treat their resources in other regions.'
He pointed out that to develop a mining industry capable of meeting future requirements, more investment in exploration, reducing the time needed for obtaining licenses, providing geological data, and integrating advanced technologies are needed. Therefore, Saudi Arabia has launched a new mining investment system to reduce the period of obtaining licenses, and also announced its Massive Regional Geological Survey Program to make geological data available to investors.
Al-Khorayef concluded by saying:“Cooperation is key if we want to achieve our goals, which is why we are holding the Future Mining Forum in the Kingdom next January, which will witness the participation of mining sector experts and government representatives from all around the world to discuss ways of cooperation, exchange best practices and help develop regional centers of excellence.”
--SPA
20:59 LOCAL TIME 17:59 GMT
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