RIYADH: As several nations in the Middle East and North Africa region are steadily diversifying their economies, the Arab Forum for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency has urged them to focus on localizing the nonconventional power sector, according to Qatar News Agency. The eighth edition of the forum, held in the Jordanian capital Amman, also called for manufacturing electric cars locally and contributing to new energy sources like green hydrogen. Furthermore, the forum stressed the need for universities in the Arab region to focus on renewable power, energy efficiency and management besides electric cars, smart cities and green hydrogen. Earlier this month, a report released by the Global Energy Monitor revealed that the MENA region has witnessed a surge of 292 gigawatts in prospective renewable energy capacity, marking a 400 percent year-over-year growth since 2022. According to the report, this surge in capacity is substantial enough to meet the energy demands of countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar combined. Meanwhile, G20 leaders, during the recently concluded summit in New Delhi, had agreed to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030.