Saudi Arabia Signs Strategic Energy Cooperation Program with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan at COP29.

Baku: On the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Saudi Arabia has signed a joint executive program with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to enhance cooperation in renewable energy development and transmission. The agreement was signed in the presence of President Ilham Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, along with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. According to Saudi Press Agency, the executive program aims to establish a strategic partnership to assess and develop regional power grid interconnection projects using renewable energy. This effort is intended to improve energy infrastructure efficiency and integrate renewable energy projects into the national grids of the participating nations. The program also seeks to identify and examine joint investment opp ortunities, facilitating the development of regional grid interconnection projects to support renewable electricity generation and storage initiatives, including those being implemented by ACWA Power. Furthermore, the participating countries have agreed on a mechanism to exchange information and expertise. This initiative includes knowledge-sharing among experts and specialists, organizing specialized conferences and seminars, and holding joint working sessions to reinforce their cooperation. This initiative follows previously signed bilateral memorandums of understanding between Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan in Riyadh on June 12, 2023, and energy cooperation agreements with Azerbaijan on May 24, 2023, and with Uzbekistan on August 17, 2022, in Jeddah. In addition, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman witnessed the signing of strategic agreements between ACWA Power and various entities to support renewable energy projects in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. These agreements involve developing battery energy storage systems in Uzbekistan and offshore wind power projects in Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea. The Saudi Electricity Company has also signed memorandums of understanding with network operators in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to develop regional interconnection projects and with AzerEnergy to integrate renewable energy sources into the power grid. Moreover, Prince Abdulaziz and Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov signed a comprehensive roadmap for cooperation in energy fields. This roadmap aims to establish a timeline for priority projects and facilitate procedures to achieve shared objectives, focusing on renewable energy, carbon capture, clean hydrogen, and other vital areas.