Saudi Arabia, Iraq to Complete Steps for Cooperation in Gas, Renewable Energy

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad meet in Riyadh on Thursday. (SPA)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad meet in Riyadh on Thursday. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Iraq to Complete Steps for Cooperation in Gas, Renewable Energy

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad meet in Riyadh on Thursday. (SPA)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad meet in Riyadh on Thursday. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and Iraq have agreed to complete work on a number of important joint projects in the fields of gas, petrochemicals, electricity and renewable energy, and to intensify communication between them to discuss more joint opportunities.  

This came during a meeting on Thursday between Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad.  

The officials pointed to the progress achieved in the joint electrical interconnection project, emphasizing the importance of accelerating the implementation of the plan and increasing the capacity of the linkage to meet the aspirations of their countries.  

A statement said that the officials stressed the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of electricity and renewable energy, including operating and maintaining electrical networks and stations, and developing renewable energy plant projects.  

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of clean technologies to reduce carbon emissions, within the framework of the Green Middle East initiative, which is based on the carbon circular economy approach and which includes the establishment of a knowledge center and a regional complex for carbon capture, use and storage.  

The meeting touched on the importance of exchanging experiences in the field of reducing greenhouse gas and methane emissions, and benefiting from the Kingdom’s experience in the liquid fuel displacement program.   

The two sides reviewed the developments in the global oil markets, stressing the importance of working collectively within the framework of the OPEC+ agreement, and underlined their countries’ commitment to the organization’s decision, which extends to the end of 2023. 



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.