RIYADH: Increased renewable energy cooperation between the EU and Saudi Arabia was one of the topics discussed at a high-level meeting involving the Kingdom’s energy minister and top officials from the European Commission. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman welcomed the Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson to his office in Riyadh as part of a visit to the Kingdom by the dignitaries. The meeting reviewed cooperation relations in fields related to energy, renewable energy, and clean hydrogen as well as discussions on electrical interconnection issues and climate change, Saudi Press Agency reported. Before the meeting, a tour of the facilities of the Jubail United Petrochemical Co. and SABIC Agri-Nutrients Co. took place, followed by a visit to the Aramco Research Centre and EXPEC Advanced Research Center. The gathering assessed the Kingdom’s role in dealing with emissions through carbon capture, utilization, recycling and storage projects within the circular carbon economy approach in addition to the importance of cooperation between exporters and consumers to advance climate change efforts. The Kingdom’s efforts in clean energy technologies, management of hydrocarbon emissions, and renewable energy sources were presented during the meeting to convey attempts to lead the transformation through the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. The meeting comes as part of Saudi Arabia’s preparation for the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP28, which is set to be held in Dubai. Last month, the minister also met with US Senator Mitch McConnell to discuss the Kingdom’s efforts to lead the global energy transition with a particular focus on the aforementioned initiatives. Officials reviewed the historical cooperation and friendship between the two countries in all fields in addition to discussing developments in the global energy market conditions. Saudi Arabia has led the region’s energy transition efforts thanks to its global initiatives in addition to holding the 44th International Association of Energy Economics in February. The Saudi and Middle East Green initiatives were launched in 2021 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to scale up regional climate action through cooperation and investment as well as bring the region together to collectively contribute towards achieving global climate goals.