Preparations for the International Forum on Attracting Foreign Investment in the Energy Sector of Turkmenistan have reached the finish line. A few days and hours remain before the opening of the representative meeting in Dubai – an ultra-modern and one of the most comfortable megacities, adjacent to the endless dunes of the Rub-el-Khali desert stretching beyond the horizon.

At the time of completion of the registration of delegates, their membership includes more than 300 representatives of government agencies, large companies, academic and business circles, expert and media communities. In addition to personal participation, you can also connect to the discussion platform online. The Investment Forum will be attended by members of the Government of Turkmenistan and the UAE, over two hundred representatives of foreign companies and international organizations, diplomatic missions and ministries, banks and various funds, a number of foreign and Turkmen mass media.

The Forum starts on the morning of April 26 with a plenary session. Among the speakers are the actors of the Turkmen fuel and energy complex and key figures of the international oil and gas market, who will present a strategic vision of the development of this sector in the context of the global energy transition.

How are investments in the oil and gas sector combined with the "green" transition? Like a ramp with an airplane. Investments in the extraction and processing of hydrocarbons that play a key role in overcoming the numerous manifestations of today's energy crisis: to ease the pressure on consumers, to bring the world to a trajectory of net zero, to accelerate the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Long-term solutions to the issues of transition to clean energy and environmentally friendly fuels also require discussions and coordinated actions. All this necessitates an open and extensive dialogue, the platform for which is provided by the Investment Energy Forum of Turkmenistan in Dubai.

The current forum pursues more ambitious goals than previous meetings on this issue. Its tasks do not focus exclusively on oil and gas and electric power topics and cover a wide range of issues related to renewable energy sources and climate.

And all this represents a single complex of interrelated industrial, high-tech, environmental and climatic tasks, the solution of which will be facilitated by the fact that this year the Global Climate Summit will be held in the United Arab Emirates.

Sultan Bin Ahmed Al-Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies of the UAE, Director General of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has been appointed Chairman of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. A speech has already been announced at the second session of the investment forum by the chief executive of the COP 28 Energy Transition, Saamir Elshihabi.

The high interest in the forum and its authority is evidenced by the participation in its work of such high-ranking officials and responsible leaders as the UAE Minister of State, member of the Board of Directors of ADNOC and the Abu Dhabi Development Fund Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Head of the UN International Methane Observatory Manfredi Caltagirone, President of GHGSat Inc Stefan Germain.

The Turkmen side will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Ashyrguly Begliyev, heads and specialists of departments of the oil and gas, banking and other sectors of the Turkmen economy, as well as heads of more than two dozen companies.

The moderators also included well-known and authoritative experts - Claire Godard, Head of Analytics for the Middle East region and the East of S&P Global Commodity Insights, Maxim Nechaev, Consulting Director of the same company, Stephen Wright, Technical Director of GaffneyCline, Rahimberdy Dzhepbarov, Chairman of the Board of the State Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Turkmenistan, General Director of PETRONAS Carigali (Turkmenistan) Sdn Bhd Ismadi Bin Ismail, Consulting Manager of Argus Media company Valentin Kotlomin.

In addition, the investment forum will be attended by about a dozen presidents and more than twenty vice-presidents of large companies (PETRONAS, Dragon Oil, Siemens Energy, Total Energies, CNPC, Yug-Neftegaz Private Limited, etc.), heads and representatives of financial institutions, environmental organizations, as well as such reputable international organizations as the UN, OSCE who will join the conference online.

Key reports will be read out at the plenary session, and a large range of issues put at the forefront of the investment forum will be considered during the five sessions. These are the role of Turkmenistan in the future of global energy; investment opportunities of the Turkmen energy sector: onshore and offshore projects; environmental aspects of the development of hydrocarbon deposits; new era energy: prospects for domestic and regional development; acceleration of monetization and diversification of new energy resources of Turkmenistan.

Long-term solutions to the issues of transition to clean energy and environmentally friendly fuels also require discussions and coordinated actions. All this necessitates an open and extensive dialogue, the platform for which is provided by the Investment Energy Forum of Turkmenistan in Dubai.

Media giants such as Bloomberg news, S&P, Argus, Energy Intelligence, National Gas World, Interfax, Media Hub, TRT Turk and other publications will cover the work of the investment forum in Dubai. We hope that our ORIENT will also contribute to this process.

As already mentioned, only a few days and even hours remain before the opening of the International Forum on Attracting Foreign Investment in the Energy Sector of Turkmenistan, which will be held in Dubai.

Why in Dubai?

Firstly, the United Arab Emirates is a country with highly developed science and technology. Secondly, Emirati specialists have accumulated vast experience in the oil and gas industry, in the development of green technologies, climate and environmental orientation. Thirdly, the Turkmen fuel and energy complex is of great investment interest among the UAE business circles, which was confirmed by the recent visit of the President of Turkmenistan to the United Arab Emirates.

In addition, within the framework of the investment forum, working excursions are planned to some of the most unique places not only in Dubai, but also on our planet. This is a Solar Park, which is the world's largest power plant operating on the conversion of sunlight energy. It is expected that upon completion of the project in 2030, it will generate 5,000 MW of electricity per year, which will allow Dubai to reach the final goal by 2050 and receive 75% of energy from clean sources.

It is also planned to visit the Museum of the Future, which will allow the forum participants, as if on a "time machine", to get into the next few decades. Both of these excursions will be useful to everyone, but first of all, it seems to us, to Turkmen specialists, taking into account the construction of the city of Arkadag, the construction of which uses innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and renewable.

Thus, the experience of the construction of the city of state significance Arkadag as an exemplary model of a settlement will subsequently be used throughout Turkmenistan.

Therefore, the electronic countdown clock installed on the website of the International Forum on Attracting Foreign Investment in the Energy Sector of Turkmenistan is bringing us closer to its opening every second.

Expectations are high and, given the active preparation and interest shown in the forum, there is every reason to believe that they will be justified.

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