Saudi Arabia Launches Middle East Green Initiative

Saudi Green Initiative logo
Saudi Green Initiative logo
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Saudi Arabia Launches Middle East Green Initiative

Saudi Green Initiative logo
Saudi Green Initiative logo

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will launch the “Middle East Green Initiative” on Monday, joined by several heads of states and policymakers to create a sustainable road map for the region and highlight green transition and policy solutions.

The Crown Prince announced the initiatives, saying: “I am proud to announce the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives, but this is only a start.”

He reiterated that the Kingdom, the region, and the world needs to go much further and faster in combating climate change.

“Given our starting point, beginning this journey to a greener future has not been easy. But in line with our overall modernization philosophy, we are not avoiding tough choices,” said the Crown Prince.

“We reject the false choice between preserving the economy and protecting the environment.”

Meanwhile, the Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, inaugurated Sunday the “Youth Green Summit” in Riyadh, stressing that the Kingdom is working with various countries in the field.

He confirmed that the issue is a top priority that can’t be ignored.

Through the Middle East Green Initiative, Saudi Arabia will devise a green map to protect the land and nature and lead regional efforts to achieve global goals to combat climate change.

The initiative will support improving the quality of life and protecting future generations by increasing reliance on clean energy, protecting the environment, and neutralizing the effects resulting from oil usages.

Saudi Arabia intends to lead the next global green era, where the Middle East Green Initiative summit will bring together several prominent international and regional leaders.

The summit aims to enhance cooperation and unify efforts to implement joint environmental commitments and form the first coalition to combat climate change in the Middle East.

The summit seeks to provide a platform that combines knowledge and capital to enhance political will to bring fundamental changes.

The Kingdom is also seeking to work with neighboring countries in the Middle East to combat climate change within the Middle East Green Initiative framework as the most extensive reforestation program in the world.

The Middle East Green Initiative summit aims to “create a first-of-its-kind regional alliance” and introduce the Middle East’s first pact on climate change.

It will offer a stage for climate diplomacy and foster the political will needed for transformative action.

In partnership with the regional countries, the Middle East Green Initiative aims to plant 50 billion trees to reduce carbon emissions and combat pollution and land degradation.

The initiative also aims “to enhance the efficiency of oil production and increase the contribution of renewable energy, in addition to multiple efforts to preserve the marine and coastal environment, increase the percentage of natural reserves, and improve quality of life.



Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
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Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

Qatar's Prime Minister said in Davos on Tuesday he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland, two days after the ceasefire Qatar helped broker came into effect in Gaza, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani cautioned that Gazans -- and not any other country -- should dictate the way the enclave will be governed.

"We hope to see the PA back in Gaza. We hope to see a government that will really address the issues of the people over there. And there is a long way to go with Gaza and the destruction," he said.

How Gaza will be governed after the war was not directly addressed in the deal between Israel and Hamas movement that led to an immediate ceasefire and hostage releases after nearly 15 months of talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

Israel has rejected any governing role for Hamas, which ran Gaza before the war, but it has been almost equally opposed to rule by the Palestinian Authority, the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that has limited governing power in the West Bank.

The PA, dominated by the Fatah faction created by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, faces opposition from rival faction Hamas, which drove the PA out of Gaza in 2007 after a brief war.