Remarks by Amin H. Nasser at Namaat 2022

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,

I want to welcome all of you who have been part of our namaat journey so far and also give a very special welcome to those of you joining us for the first time.

As the name suggests, Aramco Namaat program is all about collective growth – about partnerships for growth.

The name is very appropriate.

Recent global developments have demonstrated that the energy industry is key to economic growth and human prosperity.

As such, our industry faces a dual challenge: providing secure and affordable energy as well as sustainability.

Clearly without the right partners, it would be tough to make the technological breakthroughs needed to meet the rising demand for energy while also lowering emissions.

What is also clear is that Namaat helps us to connect with the right partners. Already, the majority of the MOUs that we signed last September have made significant progress.

Now, Namaat was established during the pandemic at a time when there was much uncertainty.

Some said it was not good timing to launch Namaat.

But we decided to go ahead in the interests of continuing to enhance our efficiency and reliability.

We are glad we did proceed, as with today’s signings, the scale of the Namaat portfolio will increase from 32 to 55 investments.

I want to thank the entire Namaat team at Aramco, along with all the participating organizations, for all the success so far.

I also want to thank His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, and his Ministry team for their continued support.

Of course, Namaat is not just leading to capacity building that supports Aramco’s long-term strategy and enhancing our ability to make a positive and lasting impact on society.

It is also directly contributing to the Kingdom’s growth and GDP through further diversification of the local economy and the creation of national champions. Through additional jobs. And through increased partnerships between public and private sectors.

Simply put, Namaat is attracting both global industry leaders and local investors who are building local businesses that will benefit the local economy.

In fact, Aramco’s equity participation is just over 10% of the current Namaat portfolio.

Ladies and gentlemen, with so many opportunities in the Kingdom being created by Vision 2030 and with highly attractive government programs like Shareek also enabling and encouraging investment – the options for local and multinational organizations that are available right here and right now are both remarkable and wide-ranging.

The door is open. The value waiting to be captured is there for the taking.

As for today, we are announcing and celebrating more new agreements and MOUs. But Aramco Namaat will not stop or slow here. We expect more collaborations to come.

With the transformation of Saudi Arabia, Aramco aims to continue to be one of the catalysts and enablers of progressive partnerships.

So once again, we thank you for your participation in Aramco Namaat.

We trust this program will continue to provide you with new opportunities to grow your business – while at Aramco, we also continue to grow ours.

Thank you.