IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech

[M008-01] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:00:21 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

When he again enthusiastically introduced this mammoth Iconic, I would not call it building, I would call it Iconic concept of how can we reach out to the world? So, if you can first join me with a quick round of applause for the very person who created this idea.

[M008-02] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:00:59 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

It is an honor to have a friend like you, Abdullah. It will be like the pharaohs who built the pyramids, Ithra would be the pyramid of Saudi Arabia. To those, who have decided to have Ithaa here, King Abdullah, God bless his soul, we owe him thanks even if he is six feet under, because those are who built the country, they are truly 6 feet under, but more important, they are in our hearts, and they shall never leave our hearts, even the hearts of next generations. If it was not for them, we will not be here celebrating this event and any forth-coming events, as we see this industry prospering and growing. Not only that, but I believe sincerely that we will be a source, if not the source, of inspiration to the entire industry.

[M008-03] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:02:29 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I see among us the present here quite a few young women and men. I can only think of what a future they will build, if we enable them to have that ability, and those enablers to carry on the torch and moving forward.

[M008-04] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:03:02 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I am lucky, as a new minister, to those who have known me for many years, I have settled to be a kind of an unsung hero. I always took pleasure of serving the country first, and I am content with that service, even if I had not become a minister. It just so happy to became one, whether it is fortunate or unfortunate to some, I would just share few ideas with you, if you permit me. I am not trying to take this theme from my own speech tomorrow, because I have another one, but to say a word of fact, this place I knew it since 1977.

[M008-05] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:04:00 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

When I was 17 years old, full of ambitions, hopes and fears too of what would become of me being a new UPMer. To be honest with you, it was probably the scariest moment of my entire life, just walking in that building next door there was an aura. A first impression that comes to you, this big mammoth mountain with these big mammoth buildings tells you a lot of scary stories that we used to hear about being living there or studying there. It just makes you wonder why the hell you are here and why the hell you would make the choice like this, why you did not go with the others to the US or anywhere abroad, because then it was the going motion for every youngest.

[M008-06] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:05:24 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I used to work around this vicinity drive around this area and I was told that 80 years ago it was a place for tents, where Saudi employees working for Aramco made a living out of this area. Then, they congregated in 4 and decided in 8 to leave 1 or 2 tents to co-mingle, like Ithra, although it is a much more progressive tent than the 80 years tense that we had then. I still have lots of pictures for the drillers that made the story of Ithra today, the up streamers, but they were up streamers, they were big dreamers; with all the small amount of education and training that they had, they made a future for themselves, their families and their country.

[M008-07] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:06:38 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Eight years ago, none of them would have thought that they will have Aramco we have today and this huge development of Saudi Arabia as you have today. We were so graced with leadership ever since King Abdulaziz, who took the right decisions, and made life and prosperity, which is something that we should cherish, Protect, preserve and do everything within our capacity to ensure that this becomes our endeavor. Unlike others who went for adventures after adventures, to the point that we start supplying them with utilities, to the point that we have to say to ourselves, and remind ourselves all the time that we have a lot to lose, while others do not have much to lose, and that equation makes it tough for us, to make decisions, and makes it less hazardous for them to make other decisions, and that is why you see the leadership here, ''King Salman'' and the prince ''Mohamed'', are very much confined to what preserve our achievements as to encompass us into adventures that mean under our collective achievements.

[M008-08] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:08:32 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

With this event I am honored twice; First, I am honored to be attending in behalf of His Highness prince Mohamed, who is all over me to make sure that our energy scene and ecosystem by 2030 is comparable to none. I am honored again because I see so many of the faces that I have seen over the last 30 years. Some of them are younger but mature, and some of them are mature but young. It just makes me so proud that I could not have imagined a day that I will be here in this podium, talking to such a distinguished group, talking to them about me and others who have here today. I can see Sadat in 1990 when we were talking about what to do about overcoming the Kuwait-Ariq Fiasco. I see so many of you here, every one of them will have some kind of a distinguished mammal of some sort.

[M008-09] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:10:03 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

The one thing I am sure of is that my career and my life did not go in vain. It was a life that I lived for a purpose and would like to continue living it for a purpose, but my purposes have changed because I got older. So, I am now switching gears and taking a back seat, and what I am doing right now is recruiting young men and women, and believe me, over the last two or three months, I have been handled by them. So, they tell me what to do, what to say, and where to go, and I find a great pleasure in that. AS I am really interested in making sure, as I said earlier, that they will be the people who make these dreams comes to reality no one else. They will be the enabled people, they will have everything that we can attend to, and achieved with them to ensure that that future will be their’s and the others that may come after them.

[M008-10] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:11:38 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I am humbled enough to say that whatever I could do will not be compared to many of the sacrifices that people here in this room had done. I know that I am rubbing my elbows with the right people because I feel that I am rubbing elbows with a band of brothers, whom I honestly believe that I am honored to be part of it. I am honored to be part of the Aramco experience and I am proud of being part of the energy experience, but I promise you of one thing that by 2030, whether I am here or not, we will have the most distinguished energy ecosystem in the whole world. We will desert the whole world, we will be on top of things, and we will take the lead and everything.

[M008-11] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:12:48 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

There is nothing else that we can do and will not do; we will be the energy and technology creators; we will be putting an example of the relationship between a government and a company and the commercial sector. More importantly, I cannot think of anything that would make me prouder than having to see somebody of the young crowd that I am recruiting today take over me, while saying it is about time that you pack and leave, because that will be something I am very proud of.

[M008-12] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:13:37 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

What we could celebrate today, it is not just hopes and wishes, but also our facts that you could see and fact that you will feel, and more importantly is that we are a country that, with all the other experiences that went around us, has been kept intact, with all its war widows, with all its capabilities and with all its resources. It is intact for those who would come just after us to take it over from us, with all its enablers, with all its resources, and a platform for people to dream.

[M008-13] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:14:36 · IPTC 2020 VVIP dinner Speech · 2020-01-13 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Prince Mohamed, did a great job in opening the society and our culture to serve the others, and making this country amenable for the others to visit, reach out and understand us. This not by an article here, and a program there, but physically visiting and being in touch with the people. I do not want to take much of the tone room, because the food will get cold, but too close, I want to make sure that you know that there is nothing of a proud moment in my entire career than this moment. Thank you.