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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Increase Reliance on Renewable Energy

Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Sakaka - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Increase Reliance on Renewable Energy

Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Prince Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, governor of Al-Jouf region (northern Saudi Arabia), revealed efforts to provide innovative technical solutions for the production of renewable energy with high economic efficiency, to meet energy and water needs.

Addressing the opening session of the Renewable Energy Conference at Al-Jouf University on Sunday, Prince Faisal bin Nawaf pointed to Saudi Arabia’s endeavor to address obstacles facing the use of renewable energy, stressing that the conference was aimed at raising awareness among community members on the importance to rely on clean sources of energy.

He also underlined to need to support research in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 in the field of energy and sustainability.

For his part, Dr. Muhammad Al-Shaya, President of Al-Jouf University, said that the region of Al-Jouf has set a strategic goal to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, by contributing to the transition towards renewable energy.

Eng. Nasser Al-Qahtani, Assistant Minister of Energy for Electricity Affairs, stated that the conference highlighted the Kingdom’s support for renewable energy projects, based on Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify energy sources.

Al-Qahtani added that Al-Jouf was home to the Kingdom’s first renewable energy projects that are connected to the electrical grid. The Sakaka solar photovoltaic project, which has a capacity of 300 megawatts, and Dumat Al-Jandal for wind energy, with a capacity of 400 megawatts, have been put into operation and connected to the public electrical grid.

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UK Treasury Chief Heading to China to Revive Suspended Economic, Financial Talks

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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UK Treasury Chief Heading to China to Revive Suspended Economic, Financial Talks

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Britain's Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the UK's Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.
The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Reuters reported.
Reeves' trip is expected to revive the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations in recent years.
A series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, have soured ties.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the UK Financial Conduct Authority's chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, are also in the delegation, according to the Treasury. Representatives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms will join the trip.
Officials did not provide details, but media reports have said senior executives from HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered were included.
Reeves' visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November.
The meetings form part of a bid by Starmer, who was elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the UK's fifth-largest trading partner.
Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy.
But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns.
British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have warned repeatedly of the security threats that China poses. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China's ruling Communist Party, according to officials.
Nevertheless, Lammy told reporters in London on Thursday that “there are many areas of trade that don’t impact on national security.”
He said Reeves “will repeat many of the messages that I took to China.”
“What we’ve said is in this complex relationship with a global superpower, we are guided by three Cs”: challenge, compete and cooperate, for example in areas including health and climate challenges, Lammy added.