The Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs of Italy, H.E. Manlio Di Stefano, and the Undersecretary for Energy of the Sultanate of Oman, H.E. Salim Al Aufi, shared prospects and opportunities for a stronger cooperation between the two countries in the development of the green hydrogen and renewable energies in a webinar promoted by the Embassy of Italy in Muscat and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
Several leading Italian companies of the energy sector – including ENI, SAIPEM, SNAM, Magaldi and Ansaldo Energia – engaged in a discussion with Omani key players of this field – PDO, OQ, Sohar Port and Free Zone – mutually sharing information on current initiatives and future plans, envisaging possible areas of common interest where research, industrial and technological cooperation can the strengthened with a view to promoting investments, transfer of technology and a sustainable growth pattern.
Italy is at the forefront, also as co-chair of the upcoming United Nations Conference on Climate Change – COP26, in promoting international collaborations for the reduction of emissions and the search for alternative energy supply sources and is willing to be technological partner of Oman. The positive collaboration already underway between the Sultanate and Italian companies in the energy sector and the opportunities arising from the shared interest of the two countries to the development of clean energy technology paves the way to new initiatives and investments.
The webinar also highlighted to the Italian investors how Oman constitutes a platform of growing interest for the hydrogen industry and for renewable energies thanks to a wide and continuous availability of solar and wind sources, a consolidated industry of production and export of energy, a strategic geographical position with access to ports and merchant routes of global importance and proximity to the main international markets.