The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan was on an official visit to Iceland this week in relation to Iceland’s and the UAE’s cooperation in the field of renewable energy.
Harnessing geothermal energy on Hellisheidi. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The foreign minister met with Iceland’s Minister of Industry Katrín Júlíusdóttir on Monday in the absence of Össur Skarphédinsson, Iceland’s minister for foreign affairs, who was attending an EEA state summit in Brussels, according to a press release from Iceland’s Foreign Ministry.
Al-Nahyan also met with Minister of the Environment Svandís Svavarsdóttir and had a luncheon with President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson before visiting the Hellisheidarvirkjun power plant near Reykjavík.
Since 2006, Iceland and the UAE have cooperated in the field of renewable energy sources. Icelandic experts in the field have, for example, provided counseling on geothermal energy.
Icelandic students have been invited to study at a technical college in the UAE and local investors have expressed interest in participating in geothermal energy projects with Icelandic companies.
