Washington, DC, October 31, 2016 – The United States of America and the United Arab Emirates today reaffirmed their shared commitment to a strong bilateral relationship during the U.S.-UAE Strategic Energy Dialogue held at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C.  U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and UAE Undersecretary of Energy Dr. Matar Al Neyadi co-chaired the meeting to exchange ideas and review joint cooperative efforts for expanded cooperation in clean energy, carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and civil nuclear energy. Deputy Secretary Sherwood-Randall and Undersecretary Al Neyadi also launched a new work stream under the dialogue devoted to exploring collaborative research opportunities on nuclear energy. 

During the dialogue, the U.S. Department of Energy and UAE’s Ministry of Energy discussed the importance of addressing energy security and climate change challenges through public and private sector partnerships and investment to support the development and deployment of sustainable energy technologies, as well as mutual bilateral and multilateral initiatives.

Key bilateral initiatives discussed include the first Solar Decathlon Middle East, a competition for university students to design and build solar-powered homes that will take place in Dubai in late 2018. The Solar Decathlon program has proven to be instrumental in promoting the deployment of cutting-edge renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Another bilateral collaboration is DOE’s work with the UAE’s Masdar group on innovative water desalination technologies where DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) experts provide technical assistance for Masdar’s water desalination pilot program through the Global Clean Water Desalination Alliance (GCWDA). A key focus of discussion was on a GCWDA white paper on the state of Technology for energy efficient and renewable energy powered water desalination systems, and the potential for desalinization systems to provide grid services. The GCWDA plans to present their findings during the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP) in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016. 

Stressing the importance of multilateral cooperation, the delegation is focused on expanding the UAE’s leadership role in three key international initiatives: the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, the Clean Energy Ministerial with a focus on the Clean Energy Education Empowerment Initiative (C3E) and Mission Innovation. The U.S. and the UAE agreed to participate in programs to highlight these efforts at COP22. 

The two day-long talks and technical meetings also highlighted U.S. cooperation with the emerging civilian nuclear power sector in the UAE and the commitment of both nations to development safe, secure and responsible nuclear power in compliance with international agreements and commitments in coordination with the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation.

At the conclusion of the dialogueat the Embassy of the UAE, both U.S. Deputy Secretary Sherwood-Randall and UAE Undersecretary Dr. Matar Al Neyadi agreed that the strategic energy dialogue between the two countries is crucial for further energy cooperation and represents a key element of the broader U.S.-UAE partnership. Dr. Matar offered to host the next dialogue in Abu Dhabi in 2017.