January 21, 2008
Secretary Bodman Highlights Alternative Energy Cooperation in the United Arab Emirates
ABU DHABI, UAE – U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he delivered keynote remarks at the Masdar World Future Energy Summit 2008 emphasizing the importance of innovation in securing safe, reliable, affordable, and diverse energy supplies. While in Abu Dhabi, the third stop on Secretary Bodman’s ten day, six-nation visit to the Middle East and Europe, Secretary Bodman also met with senior government officials as well as U.S. business leaders.
“Robust investments in advanced technologies and global cooperation to advance alternative energy sources benefits the international community by enabling developing nations to “leap-frog” over some of the prevalent and dirtiest fossil-fuel-based technologies to a diversity of cleaner energy options to power economic growth,” Secretary Bodman said. “Forums like the World Future Energy Summit and specifically the UAE’s work through the Masdar Initiative complement the work in the United States and around the world to harness innovation and propel us to a more secure global energy future.”
In his Masdar remarks entitled “World Future Energy Policy and Strategy”, Secretary Bodman highlighted the increasing demand for energy worldwide, and the importance of a diversity of energy sources to power a safe, reliable, clean, affordable, and diverse energy future. Secretary Bodman also held bilateral energy discussions with the UAE’s Minister of Energy Mohammed bin Dha’en Al Hamili, Minster of Interior Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Yousef Omair bin Yousef, and Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority Chairman and Mubadala CEO Khaldoon Al-Mubarak. In these bilateral energy discussions as well as his meetings with global business leaders, Secretary Bodman highlighted the role of government as well as the private sector to promote robust investment, in all stages of the energy supply chain, to meet projected global demand for energy. Secretary Bodman discussed International Energy Agency estimates that project $22 trillion of new global energy investment will be needed between now and 2030 to power the global community.
The UAE is the third stop in Secretary Bodman’s ten day, six nation visit to the Middle East and Europe. Secretary Bodman previously traveled to Jordan and Saudi Arabia. From the UAE, Secretary Bodman will travel to Qatar and Egypt where he will continue dialogues with global leaders to enhance the United States’ relationship with oil and gas producing nations, promote sustained investment in conventional and alternative energy sources, and encourage improvements in global energy efficiency through breakthrough technologies. Before returning to the United States, Secretary Bodman will participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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