Panaji: UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei on Saturday expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government for hosting the G20 Energy Transitions Ministers’ meeting in Goa calling the meeting “a very important one”.

“A very important meeting and first I would like to thank the government of India and his excellency for hosting all of us. UAE is coming as a guest to the G20 and we have a very important role as well this year as we are hosting COP28 and discussing very important aspects of sustainability, transition in energy,” the UAE Minister of Energy said.

Mazrouei said it is important to ensure that energy transition is done at a pace that is also serving the interest of the common people.

“We have to address one important element which is affordability and we need to make sure that the transition is done at a pace that is also serving the interest of the common people, of not raising the energy prices on them. And we need to fight the emissions coming from fossil fuels, we need not target any type of fuel in my opinion. And fighting emissions and ensuring that we get to net zero on an emission does not mean that we need to eliminate any form of fuel,” he said.

Speaking on PM Modi’s televised address during the meeting, he said: “It shows the commitment of India and the Indian people toward sustainability. India is embarking on a very rapid transition and ensuring that India not only handles the energy challenge of the future but is able to export hydrogen. I think that's something that is very encouraging and we wish India and the Indian government and the Indian people all the success in the years to come.”

The G20 Energy ministers met under India’s G20 Presidency, with the theme ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ in Goa on July 22, 2023, with the aim to share, collaborate and build on the sense of responsibility and solidarity amongst the G20 members in accelerating the clean, sustainable, just, affordable and inclusive energy transitions, following various pathways, as a means of enabling secure, sustainable, equitable, shared and inclusive growth.

Turkey’s Deputy Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Ahmet Berat Çonkar called the G20 Energy Minister's Meeting in Goa an important one, said “I think one of the most important issues in our agendas is energy. The sustainability of energy, renewable energy and the efficiency of using energy. So, we should focus more on this area and we should also focus on the fairness and justice part of the distribution of energy with affordable prices for our citizens. We need a lot of investments in our countries to reach our targets in renewable energy and the carbonization targets as well.”

The Turkish Deputy Minister further said: “It's a good experience to be here in India. I think it's very important for all the countries to be represented here in G20.”

The G20 Energy Transitions Ministers’ meeting brought together over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, special invitee countries, and several international organisations, as per a release by the Ministry of Power.

Director General Energy Commission of Nigeria Joseph Sunday Olayande said the meeting “has given us an exposure to the dynamics of energy policy making in the international arena, so we are able to share the knowledge and experiences of other delegates and the ministers.”

During the meeting, G20 Ministers responsible for Energy underlined the importance of ensuring that the growing global energy demand is matched by sustainable and affordable energy supplies.

The ministers aimed to advance technological collaboration and cooperation among G20 members, other international partners and multilateral institutions to strengthen energy systems with a view to ensuring energy security and stabilising energy markets, read the outcome document of the G20 Energy Transitions Ministers’ meeting in Goa on Saturday.

During the meeting, the ministers emphasised the importance of maintaining undisrupted flows of energy from various sources, suppliers and routes exploring paths to enhanced energy security and markets stability, including through inclusive investments to meet the growing energy demand, in line with our sustainable development and climate goals, while promoting open, competitive, non-discriminatory, and free international energy markets.