Saudi Arabia will participate next Monday in the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), hosted by Mongolia from Aug. 17 to 28, with the participation of States Parties, international organizations and relevant stakeholders.
Saudi Arabia will hand over the COP presidency to Mongolia following a term marked by the implementation of several international initiatives and partnerships launched at COP16 in Riyadh.
The Kingdom's participation builds on its leading role in supporting international efforts to address environmental challenges. During the conference, Saudi Arabia will highlight key international initiatives it led during its presidency and the progress achieved under them.
These initiatives include the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership (RGDRP), the Riyadh Action Agenda, which has expanded from 35 to more than 100 initiatives, the Sand and Dust Storm Monitoring Initiative, and the activation of the Land4Business initiative.
The Kingdom will also showcase its efforts to protect the environment and natural resources, expand vegetation cover and promote sustainable solutions to combat desertification, reflecting its commitment to multilateral environmental action and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Saudi Arabia hosted the UNCCD's 16th session in Riyadh in December 2024. The conference was the largest in the convention's history, bringing together 197 Parties (196 countries and the European Union) and resulting in the adoption of 39 decisions and the mobilization of more than $12 billion to support land restoration and drought resilience.
Saudi Arabia will take part in the conference through a national pavilion in the Blue Zone, featuring more than 40 side events, as well as a dedicated pavilion for the Middle East Green Initiative.
The Kingdom will also chair the final meeting of the COP Bureau before handing over the presidency to Mongolia. In addition, it will convene the second meeting of the Steering Committee and the first meeting of the Partners Assembly of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, building on the dialogue it has led on the Global Drought Framework through meetings in Panama, Bonn and Cairo, as well as a ministerial meeting in Nairobi.
With its participation in COP17, Saudi Arabia will conclude its presidency of COP16 after establishing a track record of major initiatives, effective partnerships and implementation mechanisms that have helped translate the outcomes of the Riyadh conference into practical action.
The Kingdom looks forward to continuing cooperation with all States Parties to sustain progress toward the objectives of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, to advance global efforts to restore degraded land, and to build resilience to drought, guided by its conviction that collective action is essential to addressing global environmental challenges.