Majid Al-Moneef, chairman of the Board for the Saudi Association for Energy Economics, or SAEE, announced that they were in the process of instituting a MENA energy economics conference annually in the region.

"We had one exploratory meeting in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, but this will be hopefully institutionalized in the region so the MENA energy economics conference will join the North American conference, the European economics conference and the Asian conference," Al-Moneef said.

Jean-Michel Glachant, president of the IAEE, said he was glad to be meeting face-to-face for the event and welcomed the attendees to Saudi Arabia.

"On a more personal touch, I'm also very happy to welcome being back (attending) face-to-face events and you will find this strange, to welcome you to Saudi Arabia. I know it's not my country, but you have all seen now how easy (it is now) to get a visa and to go through airport practicality," he noted.

"At IAEE, we encourage you to network, to meet fellow researchers, to share your knowledge, to gain from conference experience and please you will have to tell us what you have learned," Glachant said.

Late on Feb 4, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's minister of energy, said Saudi Arabia is moving to become a major exporter of green electricity to the world amid global risks to energy security and access.

The minister also warned that sanctions against Russia could result in a "lack of energy supplies when needed".

"Be it as it may, in all what goes on and had gone in the past…all of these so-called sanctions, embargoes, self-lack of investments, they all will convolute into one thing and to one thing only – lack of energy supplies of all kind when they are most needed," said the prince, adding that the "whole trajectory of the future might be lost by virtue of ignorance", he told the conference on Feb 4.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 44th IAEE event in his fireside chat with Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman at S&P Global, the minister also warned that sanctions against Russia could result in a "lack of energy supplies when needed".

For Saudi Arabia, the prince said they are gearing up to be "not an oil country, but (an) energy producing country".

"We believe that in scoring or comparing our ability, we can become the exporter of green electricity to the world. We can become all of the above: Green hydrogen, blue, purple whatever, but we're working hard to make it clean hydrogen," the prince said.

The Saudi energy minister said some countries are "to create a bit of protectionism", subsidy and public policy, adding that "gone are the days of free markets and globalization" and lamented the "cocoon approach".

In his remarks at the inauguration, Alajlan said the emphasis of the conference is on "pathways" to a clean, stable and sustainable energy future.

"Instead, there are many pathways that get us there. Pathways that take into account national circumstances, economic development and solutions that are local, national, regional and global, not the other way round. And here in Saudi Arabia, we aim to lead by example," he added.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com.