The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasized the importance of enhancing international cooperation at all levels to address the serious environmental challenges threatening Earth. KSA called for doubling joint efforts to reduce land degradation worldwide and mitigate the drought effects, urging for raising awareness about the importance of land conservation and addressing the severe impacts caused by land degradation and drought.
This came during the speech by Eng. Abdulrahman Alfadley the upcoming President of UNCCD COP16 and Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, at the high-level session titled "The Road to Riyadh". The session was held on the sidelines of the 79 session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The session was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, head of the Kingdom's delegation, HRH Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America, H.E. Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Council of Ministers and Envoy for Climate, H.E Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Dr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNCCD and the Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations.
The high-level side event, hosted by Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 79 session UN General Assembly, will focus on the upcoming UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh and gather momentum global efforts to address land degradation and drought and their social, environmental, and economic impacts.
"We hope COP16 in Riyadh will mark a turning point in the path of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. We call on the international community to actively participate in COP16. There is a need to double joint efforts to reduce land degradation, combat drought, and promote environmental preservation and sustainability." said Eng.AlFadley
Alfadley added that hosting COP16 is part of the Kingdom's efforts to protect the environment locally, regionally, and globally. He pointed out that the Kingdom had taken several steps to protect the environment, including launching the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative as well as the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats was adopted by the G20 during Saudi Presidency.