India, Saudi Arabia ink pact to deepen ties in energy sector, promote investments

New Delhi: India and Saudi Arabia on Monday signed an agreement for cooperation in the field of energy and promote bilateral investments, an official statement said.

”The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was signed in the national capital on September 10,” the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) said.

The signatories to the pact were Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power RK Singh and Minister of Energy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, the statement said.

According to the MoU, India and Saudi Arabia will cooperate in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, hydrogen, electricity and grid interconnection between the two countries, petroleum, natural gas, strategic petroleum reserves and energy security.

Besides, it seeks to encourage bilateral investment in the fields of renewable energy, electricity, hydrogen and storage, and oil & gas.

The MoU also focuses on the circular economy and its technologies to reduce the effects of climate change, such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

The countries will also work towards promoting digital transformation, innovation, cyber-security and artificial intelligence in the field of energy.

India and Saudi Arabia will work on developing qualitative partnerships between the two countries to localise materials, products and services related to all sectors of energy, supply chains and technologies besides strengthening the cooperation with companies specialised in the field of energy.

”The MoU will develop a stronger partnership between India and Saudi Arabia in the field of energy. The MoU will support India’s efforts for energy transition and transformation of the global energy system towards combating climate change,” the ministry said.