The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region

[M034-02] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:00:23 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Thank you very much, distinguished guests, your Excellencies, Prime Minister, Muhammad Bilal, Prime Minister of Mauritania. I, certainly, do enjoy being part of this activity. We are, Saudi Arabia, have a lot to showcase, and a lot to demonstrate and a lot to be pioneer work. I am Glad that most of the things that I was just about to tackle.

[M034-03] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:01:00 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

My two guests, the two ladies who had spoken ahead of me, had touched upon it which tells me a lot that our message has permeated, and will continue to permeate as we are all endeavoring to attend to bring about the very best of all of us, congregating around where can we bring the solutions to the issues of sustainable development, exploitation of the natural resources, and yet do all of the above with maintaining our commitment to the environmental concerns and certainly, climate change.

[M034-04] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:01:49 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Without much ado, as I said, I am delighted to participate in this United Nation roundtable, and welcome the remarks from Her Excellency, Ameena Muhammad, Deputy Secretary General, and from her Excellency Rolla Dashti, the Secretary General of the United Nation and Executive Secretary of the UNESCO. I would like also to express my appreciation to the secretariat for this attention devoted to this important region of the world. The extractive industries are enormous and important in the development of the Arab world. I think their contribution is not only noticeable, but it is far more important to almost to all the Arab nations.

[M034-05] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:02:49 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

In Saudi Arabia, in particular, we have our main source of economic growth, national wealth, employment, and livelihood. You could say that the story of modern Saudi Arabia is the story of how we have efficiently and responsibly capitalized our natural endowments, especially with regard to the vast hydrocarbon resource that we have been blessed with.

[M034-06] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:03:14 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Saudi Arabia, of course, has significant reserves of minerals, rare earth metals, and other valuable deposits including gold. But, due to time constraint, I intend to limit my remarks onto the oil and gas aspect. Hydrocarbons are essential ingredients in the global economic development. They energize our factories, transportation, home, and other elements in our everyday life, and they serve as a primary feedstock for many industries, certainly petrochemicals, among us. For producers, great endowment, also, bring a great responsibility, and I want to focus on two big challenges faced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and indeed by the whole World: they are economic diversification, and environmental sustainability.

[M034-07] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:04:15 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Regarding economic diversification over reliance on the commodity and any commodity or even few commodities and the volatility of revenue brings its own challenges for economic policymakers, and disrupts development plans which was demonstrated during the pandemic, and many of the other previous occasions when oil demand suffered from the biggest short-term decline in the history of 2020.

[M034-08] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:04:50 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

Diversification has been a constant feature of the Saudi economy, and economic development. the division 2030 strategy think that it is a type of reconciliation of what we have done in the past and what we are intending to do in the future, learning from our own previous mistakes. There is nothing wrong with admitting that in our process development, we did not secure what we were expecting to achieve.

[M034-09] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:05:29 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

The launching of the vision 2030 is nothing more than revisitation of what we have done in the past, and "how we did failed in achieving what we are aspiring to achieve?" and "how can we do it in the next time around in a more better way and in a more effective way?", learning from our previous mistakes and misjudgments.

[M034-10] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:05:58 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

That is why his Highness, the Crown Prince, Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, recognized the economic risk of overdependence on one commodity, or even group of commodities, in seeking to fundamentally diversify the economy of Saudi Arabia. Over the next decade, Saudi Arabia will be transformed into a diverse economy with a dynamic private sector, driving the entrepreneurial spirit, and leading the world into technology and innovation which brings me to the second crucial challenge the environmental and the threat of climate change.

[M034-11] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:06:36 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

We are convinced that this can be successfully confronted by applying modern scientific techniques of technology and innovation, and we are leading the world in developing these skills and systems. In fact, we will continue competing with everybody else on that endeavor, specifically, in the circular carbon economy framework. Ia m glad that the previous two ladies had mentioned the circular economy without adding the word carbon to it, but here we go, we are adding the word carbon to make it more specific to attend to our quest.

[M034-12] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:07:19 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

The circle carbon economy framework was endorsed by the world leaders at the last year of 2020 Presidency, when we had the honor of residing at the present presidency as Saudi Arabia. let us aim to reduce, reuse, recycle, and remove CO2 emission to achieve the goal as agreed on under the Paris Agreement. We aim to use wind and solar power to drive the transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy.

[M034-13] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:07:56 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

By 2030, I am committed to half of our domestic energy needs and the power sector would be met by such means, and the other half will be satisfied by cleaner gas production. We are also making great strides in the development of the blue and green hydrogen as a clean energy alternative and recently signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with Germany to collaborate in this area.

[M034-14] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:08:30 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

In addition, our hydrocarbon sustainability program aimed to address existing and new opportunities for demand to grow by developing and increasing the usage of the innovative materials like polymer, tiles, plastics, pellets, and construction material using the non-conventional ways, and not even relying on the conventional markets of hydrocarbons and certainly all.

[M034-15] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:08:58 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

I would like, since the two ladies preceded me, to talk about empowerment. I am very honored to say that Saudi Arabia of the past had gone and gone forever. All what you need is to come and visit us in Saudi Arabia, and you will see young ladies competing with young men over jobs, over opportunities and overtaking over the lead in leading these activities that have just numerated few of them.

[M034-16] · سمو وزير الطاقة (HRH the Minister of Energy) · التوقيت 00:09:36 · The Role of Extractive Industries as engine for Sustainable Development in The Arab Region · 2021-03-16 · مشاهدة عند هذا التوقيت

It is quite disheartening to see the young generation taking over these dreams from us because it is not ours, but it is theirs, and there is no a better custodian for those plans than the youth because they will see it happening, and because it will impact on them most, and because it would help them to him to enrich themselves, also because it would enable them to create a future for their own children when they come, and they will be the proudest of all of us when they see these missions that are being delivered. Excellency, ladies, and gentlemen, Saudi Arabia stands ready to assist, collaborate with our Arab neighbors in the global effort to confront these issues. The United Nation is the appropriate forum for these issues to be discussed, because the global challenges require, certainly, global solutions. I wish every you every success in your roundtable deliberation here today, and thank you very much indeed.