MOSCOW — Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih signed a joint road map for cooperation of the Saudi-Russian Joint Governmental Committee with the Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak on the sidelines of their meeting, which was attended by officials from Aramco, Ministry of Energy, and a number of Russian energy companies and their services, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Friday night.

The two ministers agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of oil and gas and to cooperate in all renewable energy sources such as solar and nuclear energy through the localization of industries, attracting investments and exchanging experiences in the interest of the Kingdom, contributing to the development of local industry and reducing their costs using expertise.

They discussed the coordination process on the issue of climate change, in the fields of academic cooperation related to the energy sector, and discussed a number of future projects and joint investments between the Kingdom and Russia.

Al-Falih said in a press statement following the meeting that the distinguished bilateral relations led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince have contributed to the leading role of the two countries in rebalancing the oil market through the Vienna Convention, since January 2017, with the participation of 24 countries within OPEC and outside.

He expressed the hope to host the Russian minister of energy during the joint meeting of the Saudi-Russian Joint Committee to be held in Riyadh at the end of October.

For his part, Novak expressed optimism about the road map strategy for joint cooperation between the Kingdom and Russia to achieve the aspirations of the two leaders in the fields of energy and joint investment between the two countries. — SPA