UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei signed on Saturday the International Energy Charter, whereby the UAE joined the charter as an observer.
The event was held on the sidelines of Global Conference on Energy Efficiency, organised by the International Energy Agency, IEA, in Paris.
The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Urban Rusnak, Secretary-General of the International Energy Charter, and Eng. Fatima Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Electricity and Future Energy.
As an observer, the country will now be able to share information and identify investment opportunities in the energy sector in general and in renewable energy in particular. This will help state-owned companies such as Masdar, Mubadala and Dragon Oil explore more investment options in member countries.
This step promotes co-operation between the UAE and the General Secretariat of the International Energy Charter for reviewing of reports on the state of the energy sector. It also facilitates preparation of these reports in a manner that helps in achieving the indicators of the state’s national agenda and prevents the issuance of reports containing inaccurate data.
The International Energy Charter has a total of 80 member states, among others, Russia, the United States, France, Britain, Japan, Korea, India and Argentina.