Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, inaugurated in Riyadh on Sunday the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Technologies.
The event is being held under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense.
Held at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, and organized by the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification, in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, the event will continue until May 31.
Opening the ceremony, Al-Fadhli thanked Crown Prince Mohammed for his patronage of the event, which reflects the keenness of the Saudi leadership to preserve and develop the environment, especially the vegetation cover, which is a fundamental pillar of the environment and wildlife.
He also highlighted Crown Prince Mohammed's Saudi Green and the Middle East Green Initiatives.
"The Kingdom is moving towards achieving a qualitative and unprecedented leap in the Middle East in environmental protection and vegetation development," he remarked.
"Such pioneering and ambitious initiatives locally and regionally will be reflected globally in reducing desertification and enhancing biodiversity, and push towards a cleaner and more sustainable future, thus improving human quality of life,” the minister added.
Al-Fadhli underlined the keenness and support of the Crown Prince to encourage innovation, stimulate young Saudi minds, and their determination in environment protection and the development of vegetation cover.
CEO of the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification, Dr. Khalid Al-Abdulqader, said the exhibition and the international forum on afforestation techniques aim to bring together visions, experiences, opinions, and ideas of a group of specialists, experts and environmentalists, and parties concerned with vegetation cover and combating desertification, afforestation techniques, and investment in parks and reserves.
He added that more than 90 speakers from 20 countries and organizations from around the world will engage in 20 dialogue sessions and workshops discussing more than 50 scientific papers.
Al-Abdulqader stressed that the exhibition and the international forum will build bridges of communication between more than 80 exhibitors from government agencies, the private sector, international organizations and bodies, and environmental associations to display their projects and products and qualitative innovations.
Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Andrea Meza participated expressed the importance of the exhibition in preserving the environment and combating desertification.
NEOM CEO, Eng. Nadhmi Al-Nasr announced during the opening session an initiative launched by NEOM, in cooperation with the national center, to plant 100 million local trees as part of the 10 billion trees that will be planted around the world. It will also rehabilitate 1.5 million hectares of land and natural reserves and wildlife habitat restoration in NEOM.
