His Excellency the Vice Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Mansour Hilal Almushaiti took part in the high-level meeting of the seventh United Nations Environment Assembly, held in Nairobi on December 11 and 12 under the theme “Advancing Sustainable Solutions for a Resilient Planet," with broad international participation.
In his remarks, he stated that Saudi Arabia stresses the need for stronger cooperation at the national, regional, and international levels to address global environmental challenges. He noted that protecting the planet and enhancing its resilience requires collective action and long-term sustainable solutions that safeguard the well-being of future generations.
Eng. Almushaiti explained that Saudi Arabia has adopted a comprehensive, integrated approach to environmental sustainability. He highlighted national policies focused on managing natural resources, restoring vegetation, combating desertification, preserving biodiversity, reducing carbon emissions, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals—all in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
He also noted the Kingdom's active role in tackling environmental issues worldwide. Saudi Arabia collaborates closely with regional and international partners and hosted major global events such as World Environment Day, the One Water Summit, and COP16 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The Kingdom also submitted a draft resolution on strengthening global cooperation to fight land degradation during the sixth UN Environment Assembly.
At the national level, Eng. Almushaiti highlighted that more than 500,000 hectares of degraded land rehabilitated and over 151 million trees planted under the Saudi Green Initiative. He added that the Kingdom continues to advance the Middle East Green Initiative, involving 30 countries from the Arab world, Asia, and Africa. Both initiatives, he said, serve as important platforms for regional and international cooperation to protect the environment, reduce land degradation, enhance climate adaptation, and safeguard natural resources.
In his closing remarks, Engineer Almushaiti reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to working with all partners to strengthen joint environmental action, urging support for global initiatives such as the Global Water Organization and the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership.