Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Region, inaugurated the project platform for interconnecting the GCC Electricity Market with the Republic of Iraq at the headquarters of the GCCIA in Dammam today.

The Eastern Region Governor stressed that the GCC electrical interconnection project aims to preserve energy security and enhance integration among the GCC countries for the benefit of the GCC citizens. He said: ‘Energy security is of great importance at the level of the countries of the world as the backbone of life. Energy generation has become not limited to traditional roads and sources, there is nuclear and renewable energy, and we hope to launch and expand to further horizons, and to include other countries’.

He commended the efforts of those in charge of the GCCIA, recognizing their contribution to enhancing energy security and their commitment to embodying it through their continuous presence in the networks of GCC countries and participating nations. Furthermore, the launch of the platform signifies a step towards fostering good neighborly relations with the sisterly Republic of Iraq, driven by geographical proximity.

Yaqoob Al-Kiyumi, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Interconnection Authority, emphasized that the project’s launch fulfills one of the authority’s key objectives. It also opens up opportunities in the Gulf market for the exchange and trade of electrical energy between GCC countries and the Republic of Iraq. This development further facilitates bilateral or multilateral agreements between the GCC countries and Iraq, as the project establishes the necessary infrastructure to transmit electrical energy.