UAE-France Business Council Sparks Clean Energy Collaboration in Paris

22 Feb, 2024

UAE-France Business Council Sparks Clean Energy Collaboration in Paris

The second plenary meeting of the UAE-France High-Level Business Council took place in Paris, co-chaired by H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Mr. Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies. Their partnership underscores a commitment to strengthen bilateral ties, as highlighted in the presence of H.E. Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy, Finance, and Digital Sovereignty.

Emphasising the Council's significance, H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber underscored its role in fostering economic relations and mobilising private sectors for sustainable collaboration. Minister Bruno Le Maire echoed the sentiment, expressing a mutual ambition for tangible joint projects driving innovation, industrial growth, and ecological transition.

The meeting marked the signing of an MoU for the "UAE-France Bilateral Climate Investment Platform," facilitating joint investments in clean energy, notably targeting hard-to-abate industries. Participants include ADNOC, Masdar, TotalEnergies, Bpifrance, and CMA-CGM. Moreover, TotalEnergies Renewables and Masdar agreed to collaborate on renewable energy projects in emerging markets, focusing on solar and wind initiatives in Central Asia and Africa.

Progress was reviewed in various working groups, highlighting partnerships such as sustainable aviation fuel production and market development, geothermal energy projects, and water infrastructure ventures in Uzbekistan, among others.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber lauded France's climate commitments at COP28 and TotalEnergies' endorsement of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter. The meeting concluded with the approval of the Council's 2024 roadmap, aimed at expediting collaborative ventures.

Bilateral trade between the UAE and France surged by 12.5% in the first nine months of 2023, reaching AED 25.1 billion. The UAE hosts over 600 French companies, employing over 30,000 people, highlighting the robust economic relationship, with the UAE being France's second-largest GCC investor.