The UAE leadership has long recognized that pursuing the country’s economic growth and protecting the environment can be achieved in tandem. In 2006, way before renewable energy was trending, the UAE government established Masdar also known as the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a renewable energy company and subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, a sovereign wealth fund of the Abu Dhabi government. In 2015, the UAE was the first Gulf country to ratify and sign the Paris Accord. From 2016 onwards, it took further concerted steps to address and mitigate negative impacts on the environment including establishing the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and launched the National Climate Change Plan adopting policies and strategies aimed at addressing the impacts of climate change, improving air quality, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, improving water and food security, and conserving the UAE’s natural resources. In conjunction with the country’s Golden Jubilee, Vision 2021 was launched last year that set ambitious goals for the nation to become a global model and leader in sustainability under the “Green Economy for Sustainable Development” initiative.
The UAE Investment Workshop 2022 presents renowned UAE entities who have developed ground-breaking strategies and initiatives in sustainability in their respective fields namely Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company), ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi National Air Carrier) and Borouge (a publiclisted manufacturer of high quality polyolefins) In addition to the presentations by representatives from the UAE organisations, the workshop will also feature a panel discussion feature Singapore company in the sustainable energy sector who have done well in the UAE i.e. Atelier Ten (Subsidiary of Surbana Jurong), Sembcorp, AirCarbon Exchange and Resync Technologies.
Details of the workshop are as follows:
1.45pm SG 9.45am UAE
2.00pm SG 10.00am UAE
WEDNESDAY, 7 DECEMBER, 2.00PM SG / 10.00AM UAE
Webinar Opens with Montage of Corporate Videos from Organisers and UAE National Day Videos
Welcome Remarks by His Excellency Jamal Abdulla Al Suwaidi UAE Ambassador to Singapore and Patron of UAE Singapore Business Council
2.05pm SG 10.05am UAE Keynote Speech by His Excellency Majid Al Suwaidi, Director General of the COP 28 UAE Presidency
2.15pm SG 10.15am UAE
2.30pm SG 10.30am UAE
2.45pm SG 10.45am UAE
3.00pm SG 11.00am UAE
3.15pm SG 11.15am UAE
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (with Q&A) by Sujit Parhar, Managing Director APAC Business Development & Investment, Masdar
Driving Sustainable Operations: Embracing the Energy Transition (with Q&A) by Samar Al Hameedi, VP Sustainability & ESG, ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company)
Etihad Airways – Sustainability at a Glance (with Q&A) by Mariam Al Qubaisi, Head, Sustainability & Business Excellence, Etihad Airways
Recycling – The key to achieving excellence in Circularity (with Q&A) by Anton Wolfsberger, Vice President, Global Marketing, Packaging & Circular Economy, Borouge
Q&A Panel Discussion by Singapore companies in the industry moderated by Dr Brian Shegar, President, UAE Singapore Business Council (UAESBC)
Panellists:
1. Cristina Kuo Lin, Associate Director, Atelier Ten (subsidiary of Surbana Jurong)
2. Andrew Koss, CEO UK & Middle East, Sembcorp
3. Thomas McMahon, CEO and Co-Founder, AirCarbon Exchange
4. Emir Nurov, CEO and Co-Founder, Resync Technologies
4.00pm SG 12.00pm UAE
Closing Remarks by Chairman, Sustainability Association of Singapore Mr Edwin Khew
4.05pm SG 12.05pm UAE END
H.E. Jamal Al Suwaidi UAE Ambassador to Singapore & Patron, UAESBC
Dr Brian Shegar President, UAE Singapore Business Council (UAESBC)
Mr Anton Wolfsberger Vice President, Global Marketing, Packaging & Circular Economy, Borouge
Ms Mariam Al Qubaisi Head of Sustainability & Business Excellence, Etihad Airways
Ms Cristina Kuo Lin Associate Director Atelier Ten
Mr Thomas McMahon CEO & Co-Founder AirCarbon Exchange
Mr Emir Nurov CEO & Co-Founder, Resync Technologies
Mr Andrew Koss CEO UK & Middle East, Sembcorp
Ms Samar Al Hameedi VP Sustainability & ESG, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
Mr Sujit Parhar MD Asia Pacific, Masdar and EXCO Member, UAESBC
Emcee:
Ms Asmaa Alkindi VP HR & Admin, Borouge and EXCO Member, UAESBC
In August 2022, Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi was appointed Director General of the UAE Presidency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference, COP 28, which will take place in Expo City Dubai in November 2023.
In this decisive decade for climate action, the UAE will seek to bring the world together to agree bold, practical, and ambitious solutions to this unprecedented global challenge. With a proven track record of building consensus in international negotiations ranging from climate change to energy to aviation, Ambassador Al Suwaidi brings invaluable diplomatic expertise to the UAE COP Presidency
As the UAE’s Lead Negotiator on Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability, Ambassador Al Suwaidi played a key role in the negotiation and adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, as well as in the design and adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
In his most recent role, Ambassador Al Suwaidi served as the UAE Ambassador to Spain, Andorra, and Vatican City. In a previous role as Consul General, he was responsible for opening the UAE’s first ever consulate in New York, where he also led the UAE Mission to the United Nations
As well as being a firm believer in the power of multilateralism, Ambassador Al Suwaidi also brings considerable insight into the scale and practical complexity involved in the global transition to clean energy, having worked for almost a decade in the international energy sector
Ambassador Al Suwaidi has an undergraduate degree in Geology from Brunel University (United Kingdom), as well as a graduate
Ambassador of the UAE to Singapore and Patron of the UAE Singapore Business Council
Prior to his accreditation as Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Republic of Singapore, His Excellency Jamal Abdulla Al Suwaidi served as the Deputy Manager in the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE since 2019 and as the Head of the Political Content & Media Section at the Office of the Minister from 2015 to 2019.
Before joining the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2013, Ambassador Al Suwaidi worked in the maritime and telecommunications sectors in the UAE. Ambassador Al Suwaidi holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Sharjah He is married and has two daughters.
Chairman, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore and Director & Co-Founder of AirCarbon Pte Ltd
Er. Edwin T.F. Khew, is the Chairman, Director and Co-Founder of AirCarbon Pte Ltd, a blockchain based digital platform to trade digital carbon and invest in sustainable projects. He is also a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) and currently the Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), an Emeritus President of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), a Supervisory Board Member of Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) and a Board member of the Professional Engineers’ Board (PEB) Singapore Er Khew represents SEAS on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Energy for All Partnership’s (E4ALL) Steering Committee as its Co-Chair and Chairman of its Enterprise Development Working Group
Dr Brian Shegar’s forty-year career covers leadership international banking experience with focus on South East and South Asia, Asia Pacific and Middle East as CEO of Midland Bank, NedBank and Emirates NBD. Upon his retirement from Emirates NBD in 2018, Dr Shegar established ME-Asia Consultancy Pte Ltd and is the Founding President of the UAE Singapore Business Council. He is a Member of the Global Advisory Board of CASS Business School and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Gulf Economics, Trade and Finance. Dr Shegar holds a BSc, Hons (Banking and International Finance) and an MSc (Finance) from the CASS Business School of City, University of London. He was awarded a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Western Australia Business School. He has also presented papers and spoken at numerous seminars and conferences.
Managing
Director APAC Business Development & Investment, Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company)Sujit Parhar is the Managing Director of Masdar Asia Pacific, where he leads and manages the development of, and asset management for, clean energy investments in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sujit brings a wealth of experience to Masdar, having worked for over 25 years in numerous leadership roles in the utilities and infrastructure space, both in the UAE and abroad His previous roles include being Director / Senior Advisor at Mubadala Investment Company; Chief Executive Officer, Global Capital & Development Pte Ltd, Singapore; and Chief Executive Officer for National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) in Abu Dhabi.
Sujit also serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several public and private companies in Singapore and Malaysia. He graduated from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, with a postgraduate certificate in Business Administration from University of Leicester Chairman of its Enterprise Development Working Group
Samar Al Hameedi
Vice
Samar Al-Hameedi is the Vice President of Corporate Sustainability in ADNOC responsible for leading the development and implementation of an integrated sustainability strategy for the ADNOC Group.
Prior to joining the ADNOC Corporate Sustainability function, Samar started her career with ADNOC Offshore in 2008 as an Environmental Advisor where she was responsible for supporting the company’s environmental and sustainability programs. In 2014, she was appointed as HSE Strategy and Programs Manager, responsible for developing and implementing corporate strategies and programs for enhancing the company’s HSE culture and management
Samar holds a Master’s Degree in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology from the University of Ottawa, Canada.
Ms
President, Sustainability & ESG, ADNOC – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
Mariam Al Qubaisi is heading Sustainability under Government, International Affairs & Communications in Etihad Aviation Group. Before that, she worked as an instructor in the department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Zayed University where she taught Environmental and Natural Sciences. She holds a bachelor of science in Environmental Health from Zayed University and an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include water resource management, environmental policy, and innovation and technology management. Mariam co-founded the Arab Innovation Network (AIN) in 2011, a youth initiative focused on inspiring innovative solutions to environmental and health challenges in the Arab region. As a member of AIN, she was actively involved with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in the Middle East.
Anton Wolfsberger is the Vice President, Global Marketing, Packaging & Circular Economy based in Singapore. He is responsible for developing and commercialising new solutions for Borouge’s packaging business, defining and implementing a long-term strategy and developing strategic partnerships across the value chain. He is also the key strategic driver of Borouge’s overall circular economy ambition.
Anton brings with him lifelong experience in various technical and commercial roles across the following product portfolios – Flexible and Rigid Packaging, Fibres, Coating, Energy and Communication cables, Capacitors, Pipe Infrastructure, Healthcare and the Foam industry.
In Anton’s most recent role as Director for Strategic Polyolefin projects in Borealis, his core responsibility was as a leading contributor to the development of Borealis’ corporate strategy, as well as initiator and business interface for a number of Merger & Acquisition, Cooperation opportunities and Strategy projects.
Anton is an Austrian, and holds an Executive MBA in General Management from the Limak International Management Academy in Linz, Austria
Ms Cristina Kuo Lin Associate Director, Atelier Ten (Subsidiary of Surbana Jurong)
Cristina is a Chartered Engineer at Atelier Ten Singapore with over 15 years’ experience working between the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore designing Sustainable buildings around the world. Her work focuses on providing bespoke holistic sustainable solutions centred in building environmental design, including resource efficiency, comfort, and health and wellbeing She is an expert at carrying out predictive assessments of the environmental performance of buildings to find optimal ways to regulate internal and outdoor environments. By balancing the interactions between heat, moisture and air movement between indoor and outdoor environments, Cristina’s proficiency in building physics helps buildings achieve a low-carbon, healthy and high-performing design.
Through her career, Cristina has delivered multiple award-winning sustainable developments across the world, covering project types including educational, cultural, commercial, transport, industrial, sports and master planning Mr Andrew Koss CEO UK & Middle East, Sembcorp
Mr Koss oversees Sembcorp's operations comprising large-scale industrial assets on the Wilton International site, a portfolio of flexible gas engines and battery energy storage systems across the UK, together with the company's business interests in the Middle East
Mr Koss has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial and energy sectors. Prior to Joining Sembcorp, he spent 15 years at Drax Group where he rose to chief executive officer of generation and oversaw the group's UK power generation sites and key functions. He was deputy group treasurer of Provident Financial and has held various accounting and investment banking roles at companies including Coopers & Lybrand, UBS and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson
Mr Koss is a qualified chartered accountant and treasurer He holds a first class honours degree in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics from the University of Warwick in the UK
Thomas McMahon is the CEO and Co-founder of AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), a frictionless carbon exchange offering the lowest fees in the industry, and an architecture which will allow the carbon market to expand efficiently and fulfil its true potential in helping the world meet Net-Zero. Mr McMahon is an exchange architect with over 30 years’ experience building commodities exchanges under US and Asian Exchange and Regulatory frameworks, with a focus on the development of Exchange-traded Cleared Futures and OTC products. His experience includes building and running NYMEX Asia, the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, DME and SMX/ ICE Singapore
Emir is the co-founder & CEO of Resync, an AI-driven Intelligent Energy Cloud Solutions provider. He previously worked as New Product Development Manager at REC Solar and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in electronic engineering from Nanyang Technological University. Skilled in business strategy, market analysis and product commercialization, Emir delivers improvement projects to successfully achieve company targets in a fast-paced business environment.
Asmaa is an engineer with over 13 years of experience focusing on people strategies, corporate excellence and digital transformation. Currently, Asmaa is the Vice President for Human capital and Administration at Borouge, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austria based Borealis
She leads the HR function in line with the corporate strategies across the region spanning Singapore, China, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt. In her role, Asmaa is accountable for developing and directing the implementation of strategies to determine plans and programs for the most effective utilisation of human resources to meet organisational needs, market competitiveness and financial targets.
Prior to her role with Borouge, Asmaa was the Vice President of Talent Management function at ADNOC Gas Processing during which she leads the overall mission to find, develop and retain talent in support of the organization’s over-all business strategy. She pioneered the establishment of the corporate wide knowledge management framework and innovation management program to support organisation learning and continuous improvement
Asmaa was born and brought up in Abu Dhabi, UAE and currently lives in Singapore with her family of three kids Her career was driven by the strong belief that disruptive thinking and change management works in tandem to driving a successful sustainable business.
The diplomatic relations between the two countries began on May 15, 1985, and The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates was opened in Singapore on 10/1/2001
The start of diplomatic representation for Singapore dates back to 1996, when a consulate of Singapore was opened in Dubai, and the level of consular representation for Singapore in Dubai was upgraded to a General Consulate in October 2005
The Singapore government opened its Embassy in Abu Dhabi in 2007and promoted its diplomatic representation with the appointment of a resident ambassador to the UAE in January 2013. In February 2019, the comprehensive partnership agreement was signed between the two countries
Bilateral relations between the two countries are strong and built on the basis of mutual cooperation and guarding the common interests between the two countries. There is also a mutual desire to strengthen and deepen these relations and joint cooperation in various fields in a way that is beneficial to both countries.
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Singapore
Address: 600 North Bridge Road, #09-01, Parkview Square, Singapore 188778
Email: singaporeEMB@mofa.gov.ae Website: https://sp.mofaic.gov.ae/EN/DiplomaticMissions/Embassies/Singapore/
The Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) is a non-government and non-profit business association that represents the interests and provides a common platform for companies in Sustainable Energy sector to meet, discuss, collaborate and undertake viable projects together
SEAS was launched on 12 July 2006. Our steady growth in membership numbers and programmes has mirrored the growth of the sustainable energy sector in Singapore and the ASEAN region. The Association benefited from a Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) grant from IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore, underlining their belief in the future of our industry and in Singapore’s role as a global Clean Energy hub.
Through the years we have continued to expand our core services of Knowledge Development, Business Development and Market Development in response to the needs of our membership, as part of a sustainable and measured strategic growth plan. In September 2012, we moved our new headquarters to the ground breaking Clean Tech Park, Singapore’s first eco-business park. We also expanded our footprint with CleanTech Park launching our own training facility, SEAS@Park Mall, in the heart of the city and within the business district.
The Singapore Sustainability Academy is built in partnership with 11 likeminded industry partners providing environmentally sustainable technologies, building materials and services. The academy is designed as a net zero energy facility with highly efficient air conditioning system, low power consumption lighting using LED and powered by 3200sft of photovoltaic (PV) panels.
The Academy will be a hub for knowledge sharing, outreach to the community and networking amongst sustainability practitioners.
As an organization, we are committed to expanding our membership and our suite of services to cater to the changing needs of this exciting and rapidly growing industry.
The UAE Singapore Business Council (UAESBC) is a business association registered in Singapore which aims to promote, support and enhance the development of commerce and business initiatives between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore.
The UAESBC was mentioned as a conduit for promoting bilateral trade and industry in the Singapore-UAE Comprehensive Partnership (SUCP) agreement signed in February 2019 by the UAE and Singapore governments in conjunction with the inaugural official visit of the UAE President HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
The UAESBC is active in conducting events including talks, workshops, conferences and trade delegations that inform and inspire our members and the broader business community in their globalization aspirations, with a focus on the UAE and the GCC markets.
The Council is made up of members comprising of companies and individuals who are, or aspire to be, part of the UAE-Singapore business nexus. All companies based in Singapore, UAE or any other countries are eligible to become members under the Corporate Category. Please go to uaesbc com/membership for more information about the eligibilities and privileges of membership.
