The topic of water desalination and renewable energy is of mutual interest to both Saudi-Arabia and Germany. Through the German Federal Government Initiative a Symposium hosted under the title of "Saudi-German WaterDesalination and Renewable Energy Symposium 2014" on the 29th of September 2014 at Le Meridien Hotel, Al Khobar.

Prof. S.A.M Said on behalf of the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS) attended the symposium as one of the main speakers and delivered a presentation on "Solar Energy in Saudi Arabia".