Saudi Arabia Offers Set of Solutions to Advance Global Development Reform

Saudi Arabia put forward a set of effective solutions and proposals to advance global development and economic reforms, through its high-level participation at the meetings of the G20 Leaders Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

The Saudi delegation to the summit is headed by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and includes Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, as well as a number of cabinet ministers.

Energy transition

The Energy Minister emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to collective action in order to reduce the effects of climate change by promoting the full and effective implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

He explained that the ministerial meeting of the Energy Transitions Working Group issued the Bali Charter, which included a set of voluntary principles to accelerate energy transition, including the implementation of the circular carbon economy approach and the shift towards more sustainable, balanced and equitable energy systems, as well as the continued flow of investments in clean energy technologies.

The minister said the Kingdom has called for focusing on the importance of comprehensive solutions and technologies, especially clean technologies, to curb greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account the security and stability of energy markets to ensure their continuity and the sustainability of their transformations.

Climate sustainability

He stated that the meetings of the Climate Sustainability Group dealt with aspects of sustainable recovery, developing ways and policies to confront the effects of climate change, reducing its negative effects on humans and population groups, implementing the Paris Agreement, and drafting plans and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Financial impact

For his part, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan said that Saudi Arabia’s participation in the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting came to push for mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global financial markets, and the necessary measures in the medium term to support the global economy during crises.

He affirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to working with its G20 partners to prepare a sustainable financing mechanism to strengthen the response to future pandemics, in addition to improving international governance and cooperation between global policy makers.

Labor markets

The Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Engineer Ahmed Al-Rajhi, noted that the ministry, through its participation in the G20 meetings, highlighted the need for labor markets to flourish after the Covid-19 pandemic, and expressed support for the priorities of the Indonesian G20 presidency for work and employment, in addition to presenting the programs and initiatives launched by Saudi Arabia within the framework of Vision 2030.

Tourism development

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib, for his part, said that the meeting of the G20 tourism ministers reviewed the development of tourism in local communities and micro, small and medium-sized projects, and the importance of the creative economy, innovation and technology in the development of tourism globally, in addition to the recovery of the tourism sector from the effects of the pandemic.

Al-Khatib stressed Saudi Arabia’s support for the Bali Guidelines to improve the role of local communities and support micro, small and medium enterprises for tourism transformation, in addition to responding to calls to curb global warming emissions.

Comprehensive education

Minister of Education Youssef Al-Bunyan said that the topics discussed during the meetings focused on providing inclusive, high-quality education for all to overcome the rapid increase in educational inequality and poverty, reduce educational loss in light of the challenges imposed by the pandemic, and improve the use of digital technology in education.

Oversight and Accountability

The head of the General Auditing Bureau, Dr. Hossam Al-Anqari, said that the meeting of the G20 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI20) highlighted the need to enhance cooperation and knowledge exchange among the relevant bodies, and implement the best auditing practices to strengthen oversight and good governance in the G20 countries.

The US Coast Guard warned of possible Texas port closures from Corpus Christi to Houston and began restricting vessel traffic because of Tropical Storm Beryl, which is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall by Monday morning at Port Lavaca.

Port closures could bring to a temporary halt shipments of crude oil to refineries and motor fuels from those plants.

Port condition "Yankee" was set by the Coast Guard captain of the port of Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon, restricting vessel movement in ports from Matagorda Bay, 101 miles (163 km) southwest of Houston, to the US-Mexico border.

Citgo Petroleum Corp was cutting production at its 165,000 barrel-per-day Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery on Saturday ahead of the approach of Beryl to the Texas coast.

Citgo plans to keep the Corpus Christi refinery running at minimum production as the storm moves up the coast toward a projected landfall at Port Lavaca, a pipeline hub.

Oil producer Shell Plc completed the evacuation of workers from its Perdido production platform in the US-regulated Gulf of Mexico ahead of the approach of the storm, the company said on Friday night.

Production on Perdido was shut prior to the evacuations. Shell said it also evacuated workers from the Whale platform, which is due to start production later this year.

Gibson Energy, which operates a large oil terminal in Corpus Christi, said operations were continuing, but it would take further steps depending on the forecast.

The storm was moving on Saturday with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph (95 kmh), the National Hurricane Center said.

The latest forecasts would put Corpus Christi on the dry side of the storm where the lowest winds and least rain could be expected. But Beryl could bring gale-force winds to the port, which is why the Coast Guard restricts traffic or shuts the port.

Most of the northern Gulf's offshore oil and gas production is east of Beryl's forecast track.

US Gulf of Mexico offshore production of about 1.8 million barrels per day accounts for about 14% of total US crude output, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Any impact on supplies could push up prices of US oil and offshore crude grades.

Oil major Chevron Corp, among the biggest US offshore producers, said on Friday that production from its operated assets remained normal. But it evacuated nonessential personnel from some of its Gulf of Mexico facilities.

Murphy Oil Corp said it has not shut in production or evacuated personnel, and continues to monitor the storm.

Saudi Arabia Offers Set of Solutions to Advance Global Development Reform