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Saudi Environment Minister Inaugurates 'Innovation Driven Desalination’ Conference

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, inaugurated the activities of the second edition of the “Innovation Driven Desalination” conference.
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, inaugurated the activities of the second edition of the “Innovation Driven Desalination” conference.
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Saudi Environment Minister Inaugurates 'Innovation Driven Desalination’ Conference

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, inaugurated the activities of the second edition of the “Innovation Driven Desalination” conference.
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, inaugurated the activities of the second edition of the “Innovation Driven Desalination” conference.

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, inaugurated Saturday the activities of the second edition of the “Innovation Driven Desalination” conference, organized by the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), SPA said on Sunday.
The conference is scheduled to take place from September 30 to October 3 in Jeddah with the participation of international academics, experts, and specialists.
On the sidelines of the conference’s second edition, the minister honored the winners of the Global Innovation Award in Water Desalination, in which 105 participants from over 27 countries, representing research centers, universities, entrepreneurs, and employees of companies in the global water desalination industry.
Al-Fadley congratulated the winners who have demonstrated their competence and eligibility for the award, which achieved remarkable success in its first edition. The minister noted that this aligns with the comprehensive water strategy that integrates the directions, policies, legislation, and practices in the water sector.
Moreover, he expressed his appreciation for the wise leadership's support for the water sector.
Al-Fadley emphasized the Kingdom's leading role in addressing regional and international water issues, commending the announcement by the Saudi Crown Prince regarding the establishment of the Global Water Organization based in Riyadh.
This initiative contributes to enhancing cooperation among nations and stimulating collective responses to water challenges, he said.
SWCC governor, Eng. Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, praised the participants in the award for their contribution to the water sector's goals.
Al-Abdulkarim also said that this support aligns with efforts and initiatives that promote innovation and encourage it in the field of desalination.
He added that it reflects the commitment of the SWCC to support and promote innovation, offering a supportive role that contributes to stimulating innovative projects as part of its social responsibility.
He underlined the Kingdom’s commitment to ensuring sustainable water resources, citing in this regard the corporation’s global pioneering status in producing 11.5 million cubic meters of water daily, making it the largest producer of water worldwide.
Al-Abdulkarim also voiced the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing international cooperation to improve access to clear water resources through the collaborative efforts of states and organizations to address water woes in a holistic approach through expertise exchange, innovation, research and development.
He also highlighted the winning innovations’ benefit to humanity, underlying the SWCC's Vision to be integrated into the Kingdom’s ambitious plan to use high technology to serve humanity.
The $10 million prize, which aims to encourage innovative solutions in the desalination industry and support its applications in line with the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, focused on a wide range of environmental aspects related to the industry, including reduction of energy consumption and capital and operating costs, using modern technologies and innovation.

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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.