Saudi Arabia, UN Sign 5-Year Environmental Development Cooperation Framework

A five-year development agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations to preserve the planet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A five-year development agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations to preserve the planet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia, UN Sign 5-Year Environmental Development Cooperation Framework

A five-year development agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations to preserve the planet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A five-year development agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations to preserve the planet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

In view of the contributions and efforts made by Saudi Arabia to preserve the marine environment at the national, regional, and global levels, a five-year development agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations to preserve the planet.

The signing of the agreement took place during the Riyadh Blue Talk, an event organized by the UNRC office and the embassies of Portugal and Kenya to raise awareness of oceans ahead of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon next month.

Government institutions, academics, the private sector, and regional and international organizations are part taking in the event.

Riyadh Blue Talk panel discussions tackled managing, protecting, preserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems, increasing scientific knowledge, developing research capabilities and transferring marine technology.

“(The) Ocean’s health is vital to us all. Just consider the fact that over 50 percent of the planet’s oxygen is produced in the ocean. That is why my daily mantra is, ‘No healthy planet without a healthy ocean.’ And the ocean’s health is measurably in decline,” said Peter Thomson, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for the ocean.

“We can stop the decline of the ocean’s health in 2022 and we made a great start with the consensual agreement at UNEA (UN Environment Assembly) in Nairobi in February to begin work on a binding global treaty to end plastic pollution,” he added.

“We must continue this positive momentum by ending harmful fisheries subsidies at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Geneva, by adopting the 30 by 30 target at the Biodiversity COP in Kunming, and when we gather in Sharm El-Sheikh in November for COP27, by moving the climate finance needle decisively in the direction of the Sustainable Blue Economy,” said Thomson.

“2022’s highlight opportunity will be the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, in support of SDG14’s implementation. There, we will launch a great fleet of science-based solutions, heavily powered by innovation and partnerships,” he added.



Boeing Shares Drop after Air India Crash

A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building after the incident in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building after the incident in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
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Boeing Shares Drop after Air India Crash

A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building after the incident in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building after the incident in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave

The crash of an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner jet minutes after taking off on Thursday poses another challenge for Boeing, whose new CEO has been trying to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges.

It was not clear what caused the crash, as air disasters can occur for a number of different reasons. The London-bound plane crashed in India's western city of Ahmedabad, authorities said, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.

The disaster, in which most of the 242 people on board were killed, muddies the efforts of CEO Kelly Ortberg to move past its recent issues after the planemaker hit production targets in May and received a vote of confidence from airline bosses in recent months. Shares were down about 4.9% on Thursday. Boeing said it was aware of the initial reports and was working to gather more information.

Before the crash, airline executives had been voicing greater confidence in Boeing's rebound in deliveries and in Ortberg's leadership after years of reputational damage for the planemaker.

At a recent summit in New Delhi, executives were more optimistic over Boeing's crises around safety and regulation. The widebody 787 planes, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service, have never had a fatal crash until the Air India incident. They were grounded in 2013 due to battery issues, but no one was reported injured.

"It's a knee-jerk reaction (to the incident) and there's revised fears of the problems that plagued Boeing aircraft and Boeing itself in recent years," said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group.

Boeing's narrowbody 737 MAX jets were grounded for years following two fatal crashes and have faced years of scrutiny and production delays. Last year, the US planemaker came under renewed scrutiny after a door plug blew off a 737 MAX 9 mid-flight, prompting a temporary FAA grounding and fresh concerns over quality control.

Shares of Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier, and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the jet, also fell about 2% each. GE Aerospace said it has activated its emergency response team and would support the investigation, but did not specify if the Air India aircraft was equipped with its engines.

The engine maker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Boeing's outstanding debt also sold off modestly after the crash. Its bonds maturing in May 2029 were trading at 88 basis points over Treasuries, or 10 basis points wider than on Wednesday, according to a bond broker.