Upon the invitation of the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Greece a delegation of senior IENE officers paid a two day visit to the Kingdom and held meetings with research establishments and government officials. More specifically the Institute’s chairman Mr. Costis Stambolis, accompanied by the Secretary General, Mr. Costas Theofylactos, visited the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh on September 26-27 on a fact finding mission.Upon the invitation of the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Greece a delegation of senior IENE officers paid a two day visit to the Kingdom and held meetings with research establishments and government officials. More specifically the Institute’s chairman Mr. Costis Stambolis, accompanied by the Secretary General, Mr. Costas Theofylactos, visited the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh on September 26-27 on a fact finding mission. The purpose of this mission was to ascertain the degree of interest on the part of Saudi entities to engage in discussions and eventual cooperation with the Institute on areas of mutual interest in the broad energy sector.
In this context on Tuesday, September 26, the IENE delegation paid a visit to the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) where they met with the President, Mr.Fahad Mohammed Alajlan, the Deputy President Mr.Axel Pierru and a number of senior research fellows. Following a presentation of KAPSARC’s activities and research focus by the head of communications the floor was given to IENE’s chairman where in a similar vein he presented the Institute’ mission and vision, its four operational pillars (research and studies, information dissemination, advisory services and events and education) and its current work. In his presentation Costis Stambolis also referred to the Institute’s background, its milestones, its organisational structure and its organic growth over the years. He stressed the Institute’s strong regional approach and its wide network of partners and associates in the region.
A joint presentation,with Costas Theofylactos, then followed of IENE’s flagship publication, the “ SEE Energy Outlook 2022” where various facets, especially those related to energy security,electricity interconnections,energy efficiency, renewables, and energy technologies were highlighted. A lively discussion ensued where a number of areas of mutual interest and potential cooperation were examined. The Chairman of IENE then extended an invitation to the President of KAPSARC to participate and speak at IENE’s forthcoming annual conference, the “ Energy & Development 2023”, to be held in Athens on November 14/15,2023. The visit to KAPSARC was concluded with a tour of the Centre’s impressive facilities and its extensive campus, including a 5 MW photovoltaic plant which covers the bulk of the buildings’s electricity needs.
On the second day of their stay in Riyadh the IENE delegation held discussions with a joint group of senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and Aramco. During this meeting the Chairman and Executive Director of the Institute, Costis Stambolis referred to the political context of IENE’s visit to the Kingdom which in a sense is a follow up of Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman’s visit to Greece in June 2022 and Saudi Arabia’s sustained economic and diplomatic outreach to Europe and beyond. Seen from this perspective the issues which were examined focused on joint development projects between Saudi Arabia and the SEE region including electricity interconnections, hydrogen and CCUS applications. Consequently a number of opportunities for cooperation and joint action were identified by both parties.
