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)
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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.



Morocco Receives 17.4 Million Tourists in 2024, Up 20% on 2023

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
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Morocco Receives 17.4 Million Tourists in 2024, Up 20% on 2023

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo

Morocco received a record 17.4 million tourists in 2024, up 20% compared with previous year, with Moroccans living abroad accounting for nearly half the total, the tourism ministry said on Thursday.
Tourism accounts for about 7% of the North African country's gross domestic product and is a key source of jobs and foreign currency, Reuters reported.
The number of arrivals this year was two years ahead of target, the ministry said in a statement. It expects Morocco to receive 26 million tourists by 2030, when the country co-hosts the World Cup, together with Spain and Portugal.
Morocco has opened additional air routes to key tourist markets, while promoting new destinations within the country and encouraging the renovation of hotels.
From January to November, tourism revenue rose 7.2% to a record 104 billion dirhams, according to Morocco's foreign exchange regulator.