Riyadh: The United States and Saudi Arabia will sign a preliminary agreement on energy cooperation and civilian nuclear technology, a press conference in the Saudi capital said on Sunday.
The US official said details on nuclear cooperation between the two countries would come later this year.
He said cooperation will focus on building a commercial nuclear industry in the Kingdom “with ewesome meaning developments this year”.
In a statement after the press conference, Ben Dietderich, press secretary and spokesperson for the US Energy department, said: “On Sunday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the United States and Saudi Arabia agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding concerning energy cooperation.
“The memorandum of understanding is legally non -binding, does not understand any financial commitment and rather means the intentions of the two nations to identify the areas in all the areas of energy in which collaboration would advance the mutual interest and the shared strategic objectives of each participant.”
Answering a question by Arab News, the senior American official said that the two parties will cooperate in the main energy sectors with “American technologies and partnerships playing a key role”.
He said Saudi Arabia had excellent solar resources and room for technological improvement.
Wright too rented The kingdom’s approach to effective energy development and said that applying all energy sources.
Commenting on bilateral links between the two countries, the energy secretary said: “I believe that Saudi Arabia will be one of the main countries investing in the United States, which is a victory for the two nations.”
Wright expressed his gratitude to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman for their warm hospitality, while he and his delegation arrived to strengthen bilateral ties and explore shared interests.
Wright said that talks with Saudi officials had lasted a wide range of problems, including energy cooperation, exploitation and treatment of critical minerals, industrial development and climate change.
“We have discussed the heart of what motivates progress-of human lives and how to improve them,” he noted. “Our conversations have also taken up the challenges that our nations have been faced in recent years, especially in the energy sector.”
Wright told Arab News: “We talked about the energy spectrum. I think Saudi Arabia has clearly been a nation based on effective and thoughtful development of energy resources. ”
Commenting on American prices, Wright described President Trump’s broader economic agenda, stressing that prices are only a component of a broader strategy.
He said the United States has long welcomed imports from countries around the world, benefiting both these American nations and consumers.
“However, the president is strongly concentrated on the guarantee that our business partners offer the same level of opening to American goods.”
Wright added that the administration’s objective is to extend the flow of American exports while maintaining robust imports and an international economic commitment.
“So, this is a way of describing this, a fair trade, not a limited trade, just a fair trade, a reciprocal trade,” said the official.
Wright has said that another key element in its program is tackling the outsourcing of many energy -intensive industries in the past two decades. These are sectors where the United States has once led into technology and production, but that have moved more and more abroad, he added.
Wright has also noted that many Americans have seen the job opportunities travel abroad, resulting in a decrease in economic perspectives and a reduction in security for their families.
“He ran on a platform to bring these jobs back to America,” he said. “Prices are a way to provide a boost – encourage investments in the United States, support national manufacturing and, ultimately, expand economic opportunities and prosperity for Americans.”
Wright has also expressed its optimism as to the role of Saudi Arabia in this evolving landscape, predicting that it will become one of the main countries investing in the United States.
“I think it is a victory for the kingdom, a victory for the United States, and above all, a victory for the American working class,” he said. “This means better employment opportunities and a reduction in goods costs for American citizens.”
Discussing current oil prices, he expressed confidence in a change in future potential leadership.
“Under the direction of President Trump, over the next four years, we are almost sure to see the average energy prices lower than what we have seen in the last four years of the current administration,” he said.
He noted that many Americans have become more and more frustrated by the increase in energy costs, in particular in the absence of significant growth in electricity production.
“They were frustrated to see the cost of feeding their cars increase, their domestic heating bills are increasing and their electricity bills are increasing-without significant expansion of energy production,” he said.
“President Trump was elected on a platform to develop energy production. If you are increasing the offer, you are increasing access and, on the sidelines, lower prices.”
He added that even if he could not specifically comment on current oil prices or predict future levels, he thinks that the right political environment could help facilitate costs.
“I think we will see a drop in oil prices in the next four years that we have seen recently,” he said. “If you reduce the obstacles to investment and facilitate restrictions on the development of infrastructure, you reduce the cost of energy supply – and this benefits everyone.”
Companies and nations can reach greater profitability and reliability of energy at a lower cost by removing obstacles, eliminating ineffectiveness and calling into question the growing pessimism around global energy demand, according to Wright.
“There is so much political force that tries to say that energy consumption is bad,” he said. “The involvement is that the seven billion people who do not live as we may never do – and that we should do everything possible to remove global energy demand.”
“This approach is the opposite of what I believe to be a solid policy, and it is also contrary to what I see here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he added. “There is clearly an agreement that the way of building a better world is through more energy, no less; no more prosperity, no less; and stronger international partnerships. ”
Wright also noted the growing interest of Saudi Arabia to expand its energy production capacities, in particular thanks to commercial nuclear energy.
“Trade nuclear energy technology has been developed in the United States,” he said. “We are continuing our dialogue on how the United States and Saudi Arabia can cooperate to finally build a commercial nuclear industry here in the Kingdom.”
Saudi Arabia has long prioritized the diversification of energies, commercial nuclear energy emerging as a key area of strategic interest. While the kingdom seeks to expand its mixture of energy, it continues to take advantage of its deep expertise in the energy sector.
“It has been an ambition in Saudi Arabia for some time, and for a good reason,” said Wright. “Energy has been a central industry here – certainly not the only one – but in which the country was very successful.”
He underlined the mineral resources of the kingdom, including uranium, as a natural advantage in the continuation of the development of nuclear energy.
By attacking the future of global energy, Wright underlined the importance of long -term planning and supported investments in short -term price fluctuations or political cycles.
“It is clear that the world needs much more energy,” he said. “But energy development is not something that happens in weeks or months – it requires planning over the decades.”
He stressed that ongoing cooperation in the United States-Saudi, as well as changes in Washington’s energy policy, could lead to accelerated economic growth in nations and worldwide.
“It’s not just good for our savings-it’s good for humanity,” he said. “But to make this future a reality, we need significant investments through the full spectrum of energy and infrastructure to support it.”
