UAE-German Working Group, concerned with cooperation in the field of Hydrogen and Industrial Fuel convened its first meeting at Grand Hayatt Hotel in Dubai. The meeting is part of the high-level steering group emanating from the “Declaration of Intent” for joint cooperation in the field of Energy between the UAE and Germany, which was signed off by the two friendly States, at the beginning of 2017.
HE, Engineer Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary of Energy and Infrastructure for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, chaired the UAE Delegation participating the Meeting, where the Germany Delegation chaired by HE Ernst Peter Fischer, the Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany.
The UAE Delegation represented by HE Engineer Yousef Al Ali, Assistant Undersecretary for Water, Electricity and Future Energy Affairs, and from the Germany Delegation Elien Von Zitwitzer, Director of Bilateral Energy Cooperation at the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection, and a number of their Excellences concerned with the energy sector in the two friendly countries, as well as representatives of the local and federal government sector, the private sector and the academic sector.
The meeting discussed a set of future directions and priorities that will be focused on in the field of hydrogen energy and industrial fuels between the two sides, and ways to unify visions and goals for joint cooperation in the coming years. It also discussed a set of directions supporting the hydrogen and industrial fuel sector.
Specialized technical groups have been formed to develop the hydrogen market in the two countries, as the first working group is concerned with developing the field of hydrogen business and technology, and the second group is concerned with developing policies and legislation in the field of hydrogen, in order to ensure the realization of the visions of the two countries, and to achieve the roadmap for leadership in the hydrogen field for the UAE , which was launched at the Global Climate Change Summit “COP26” in Glasgow, and represents a comprehensive national plan aimed at supporting low-carbon local industries, contributing to achieving climate neutrality and enhancing the country’s position as a source of hydrogen, within the framework of consolidating the directions of rational leadership, by promoting future solutions to challenges the Global Climate Initiative, the latest of which was the announcement of the UAE’s strategic initiative for climate neutrality 2050, which is the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa.
His Excellency stressed during the meeting organized in Dubai that the joint working group announced in November of 2021 aims to maximize the benefit of bilateral cooperation in the field of clean energy between the two countries, especially green hydrogen, by strengthening cooperation and strengthening ties between the governments of the two countries and the private sector, research institutes, in addition to working on organizing a forum to discuss obstacles to the market’s absorption of green hydrogen, as well as promoting ambitions to expand the horizons of clean energy production, and supporting the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
His Excellency explained that hydrogen is the next new source of energy, and it is promising thanks to the huge international efforts to adopt it as a future source of energy, and that the UAE has the potential to be a global center for clean energy in all its forms, especially hydrogen, and it is currently one of the leading countries in developing this field, and the pioneer in devising modern methods and methods to enhance its efficiency and find alternative solutions to traditional energy in a way that supports sustainable development.
His Excellency praised the bilateral relations between the UAE and Germany, which have witnessed great progress over the past few years, thanks to the support of the wise leadership of the two countries, mutual trust, respect and common interests, pointing to the importance of forming a hydrogen and industrial fuel working group, as it represents a road map for joint action during the next stage with a clear vision, according to an integrated program of the partnership, stressing the importance of the role of partnerships in supporting the goals of the two friendly countries to achieve climate neutrality.