Ministers and senior officials from across the Arab region are expected to attend the 7th General Conference of Arab Union of Electricity, to be held at Sheraton Doha Resort and Convention Hotel on January 7-9. Organisers said yesterday that a seminar on the investment opportunities in the electrical industries in Arab countries and an exhibition of electrical industries from the Arab region will also be held alongside the conference. The conference coincides with a meeting of the electricity ministers of the Arab League states which will take place in Doha along the same time. The event, held under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, has “the importance of renewable energy and necessity of a smart grid for Arab region” as the main topic of discussion. Participants will deliberate on the challenges faced by the power sector across the region in view of industrial developments and the increasing costs involved in generating electricity in member countries. The exhibition will feature a large number of electrical industries of the Arab region and beyond. Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) customer services manager Nasser al-Mohannadi said the Arab Union of Electricity has completed 25 years since its formation and it is a major body representing decision makers from the power sector. The conference assumes significance as it is being held in Qatar, which is spending considerable sums on infrastructure development in the utilities sector. A lot of innovations has taken place in the Qatar and regional markets and a number of private and public sector operators are present these days in such growing markets as those in this country, said al-Mohannadi. Raeed Chehab, CEO of conference managers Interactive Business Network, also spoke.