The two-day event will discuss the future of oil, with a focus especially in East Asia, and also tackle the sector’s digitization and the diversification in energy companies and countries DUBAI: The UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei and Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency are among the scheduled speakers at the third annual Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum on January 12 and 13 next year, which will kick off the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the Word Future Energy Summit. The two-day event will discuss the future of oil, with a focus especially in East Asia, and also tackle the sector’s digitization and the diversification in energy companies and countries. This year’s edition gathered over 450 international and regional political, industry and thought leaders including Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of State and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC); Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of International Renewable Energy Agency and Wafaa Yousef Al Zaabi, managing director of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. “The Global Energy Forum looks at the importance of all forms of energy: nuclear, oil, gas, renewable, and others. The diversity among its subjects and experts is what makes the Forum an important part of the energy calendar,” Al-Mazrouei said in a statement. Meanwhile, Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, said: “Abu Dhabi is a leader in the international global energy sector through its foresight, innovation, and strategic planning, and has become a magnet for policymakers, experts and business leaders. The Atlantic Council’s 2019 Global Energy Forum will bring together these crucial actors from across the globe to set the energy agenda for 2019.” “With our focus on East Asian energy demand and innovation in 2019, the Global Energy Forum plans to highlight how the region’s global energy partnerships – particularly with the Gulf – and race for new energy technologies will fundamentally reshape the energy system and geopolitical order of the 21st century. By encouraging forward-looking discussion between policymakers and business leaders, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum aims to maximize the opportunities emerging from the sweeping changes to the global energy mix, and shape outcomes that leaves us all more secure and prosperous,” Randolph Bell, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, said. The forum, convened in partnership with the Ministry of Energy of the United Arab Emirates, ADNOC and Mubadala Investment Company, and is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week – the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East.