KSA investing $200bn in renewables: Prince Faisal

Saudi Arabia, a leading global supplier of oil, is investing almost $200 billion in renewable energy at home and abroad, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister told the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Davos on Tuesday.

“Our companies are active in 21 countries, deploying solar and wind energy and other sorts of renewable energy,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said.

During a high-level panel titled ‘Keeping the Lights amid Geopolitical Fracture’, Prince Faisal emphasised the need for near-term stability, especially in the world’s energy markets.

Geopolitical stability is “absolutely key” to global energy security, he said.

“In the meantime, we need to maintain a supply of traditional energies that are priced in a way that ensures stability – and we will continue to address this in a responsible way,” Prince Faisal added.

Meanwhile, Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, participated in ‘The Return of Manufacturing’, where he highlighted the need for governments to foster innovation and co-investments in the industrial sector.

“You need the right regulatory framework to allow investment flow,” he said. Alkhorayef also emphasised the need for the right infrastructure to enable factories of the future, as well as the importance of governments to proactively develop skilled human capital to drive sustainable growth.