Saudi Arabia to Organize Int'l Forum on Afforestation Techniques

Saudi Arabia will host the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies from May 29-31. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia will host the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies from May 29-31. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Organize Int'l Forum on Afforestation Techniques

Saudi Arabia will host the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies from May 29-31. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia will host the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies from May 29-31. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia will host the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies in Riyadh from May 29-31, under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The Forum is organized by the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC) in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Environment. It will be held at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The Forum seeks to develop, protect, and sustain the vegetation cover according to Vision 2030.

Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NCVC Abdulrahman al-Fadhli extended his appreciation to the Crown Prince for patronizing the event.

The Minister stressed that organizing this event is important to Saudi Arabia for its intensified efforts and increasing attention to the vegetation cover.

He noted that it is also the central pillar of the National Environment Strategy that represents a roadmap to realize the goals of Vision 2030 in protecting and developing the environment.

The forum confirms the Kingdom’s international pioneering role in the environmental field and its announcements of global ecological initiatives that seek to establish vegetation cover.

NCVC CEO Khaled Al-Abdulkader explained that the exhibition and Forum include several comprehensive and integral aspects of forestry and technologies for combating desertification.

These include afforestation, combating desertification, irrigation techniques, water sources and technologies, nurseries, environmental waste recycling, soils, environmental monitoring and protection, development and investment of forests and parks, and plant pest control.

He added that the exhibition seeks to provide a platform to encourage government and semi-government institutions, non-profit commissions, companies, and organizations to become targeted stakeholders to combat desertification and increase vegetation cover area.

It will welcome local and international companies to display the latest technology and innovation in combating desertification, mitigating its effects, and developing and protecting vegetation.

It will also build bridges of communication between experts, significant investors, company heads, decision-makers, technical solution providers and academics, researchers specializing in the environment sector, and climate experts.

The expo welcomes experts in climate and participants getting acquainted with models for success worldwide to benefit from them and attract international expertise suitable for the environment.

The International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies aims to achieve a set of investment objectives, including highlighting investment opportunities in the environmental sector.

It also seeks to conclude several agreements and memoranda of understanding and launch local and research partnerships with local, regional, and international universities with research centers.



Oil Slumps More than 4% after Iran Downplays Israeli Strikes

Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
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Oil Slumps More than 4% after Iran Downplays Israeli Strikes

Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo

Oil prices tumbled more than $3 a barrel on Monday after Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies, easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures hit their lowest levels since Oct. 1 at the open. By 0750 GMT, Brent was at $72.92 a barrel, down $3.13, or 4.1%, while WTI slipped $3.15, or 4.4%, to $68.63 a barrel, Reuters said.
The benchmarks gained 4% last week in volatile trade as markets priced in uncertainty around the extent of Israel's response to the Iranian missile attack on Oct. 1 and the US election next month.
Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle Eastern rivals.
The geopolitical risk premium that had built in oil prices in anticipation of Israel's retaliatory attack came off, analysts said.
"The more limited nature of the strikes, including avoiding oil infrastructure, have raised hopes for a de-escalatory pathway, which has seen the risk premium come off a few dollars a barrel," Saul Kavonic, a Sydney-based energy analyst at MST Marquee, said.
"The market will be watching closely for confirmation Iran won't counter attack in the coming weeks, which could see the risk premium rise again."
Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar expects market attention to turn to ceasefire talks between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hamas that resumed over the weekend.
"Despite Israel’s choice of a low aggression response to Iran, we have doubts that Israel and Iran’s proxies (i.e. Hamas and Hezbollah) are on track for an enduring ceasefire," he said in a note.
Citi lowered its Brent price target in the next three months to $70 a barrel from $74, factoring in a lower risk premium in the near term, its analysts led by Max Layton said in a note.
Analyst Tim Evans at US-based Evans Energy said in a note: "We think this leaves the market at least somewhat undervalued, with some risk OPEC+ producers may push back the planned increase in output targets beyond December."
In October, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, kept their oil output policy unchanged including a plan to start raising output from December. The group will meet on Dec. 1 ahead of a full meeting of OPEC+.