ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative for advancing the development and deployment of renewable energy and clean technologies, today interacted with a cross-section of experts from business, academia and government, exchanging ideas on renewable energy, climate change and new technologies.

The high-level discussions also focused on ways to further condition the global business climate to spur innovation and create constructive competition within the renewable energy and sustainability fields. The breakfast meeting was held concurrently with the fourth Annual World Future Energy Summit (WFES) that runs until 20 January at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). The summit has convened thousands of participants from across the globe to discuss the current and future energy needs of the world.

The breakfast meeting was attended by several local and international business leaders, academics as well as government officials, including Enge Ditlev, CEO of Vestas; Rene Umlauft, CEO, Siemens Renewable Energy; Ibrahim Ajami, CEO of Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC); His Excellency Ambassador Hamad Ali AlKaabi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to IAEA; Dr. Kadeh Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO; Susan Hockfield, President of MIT; and Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President of Masdar Institute.

His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Sultan Al Jaber highlighted Abu Dhabi’s growing international prominence in clean technology and renewable energy that is further underlined by hosting of the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at Masdar and the forthcoming second Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting in April in Abu Dhabi.

“By demonstrating leadership and forging new partnerships, we can unleash a clean-energy revolution that delivers both growth and sustainability,” said His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon.

Dr. Sultan said: “It was a wonderful and unique opportunity to use the occasion of the World Future Energy Summit to bring together the UN Secretary-General and other business, academic and government leaders to exchange ideas knowledge and share experiences.

“Such meetings underscore the importance of increasing the level of partnerships with stakeholders from across various sectors and organizations to work towards a common objective of advancing the renewable energy sector. The meeting also reflects the commitment and contribution of Masdar and the UAE to international dialogue on clean energy,” Dr Sultan added.

The third day’s events will spotlight innovation and clean technology, while the fourth day will focus on financing future energy solutions.

Over 600 exhibitors including Deutsche Bank Group, TOTAL, OXY, ExxonMobil, BP Alternative Energy, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Vestas, Daimler and Suntech Power from 40 countries are participating at the four-day World Future Energy Summit and exhibitions 2011.

*Source: ME NewsWire

View this release online by clicking on: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/2968/en

For more information about the Masdar Initiative, please visit: www.masdar.ae

And more information about the World Future Energy Summit, please visit: www.worldfutureenergysummit.com

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