His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and President of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley announced the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership Initiative.
During his speech today in the Main Committee Room of the conference, Al-Fadley announced this new initiative. It stands out as a key international effort to strengthen multilateral cooperation in tackling the increasing challenges posed by drought, particularly in countries most affected by its impacts.
He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's government will contribute $150 million to support this initiative over the next ten years, underscoring the Kingdom's leadership in addressing environmental and humanitarian challenges with proactive solutions.
Eng. Al-Fadley emphasized that this initiative builds on Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts at the national, regional, and international levels. These efforts are reflected in groundbreaking projects like the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, as well as the G20 Global Land Initiative launched by the Kingdom during its G20 Presidency in 2020 and the establishment of the Global Water Organization.
In closing his speech, His Excellency Eng. Al-Fadley expressed gratitude to all the partners supporting the initiative, including the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Economic Forum. He also called countries and organizations worldwide to join this ambitious initiative, aimed at strengthening global capacity to address drought challenges, achieving sustainable development goals, and reducing the social, economic, and environmental impacts of drought on affected communities.
The Riyadh Global Partnership initiative focuses on proactive preparedness by adapting comprehensive strategies. These include assessing drought risks, improving early warning systems, promoting sustainable agriculture and drought-resistant crops, facilitating financing for better water infrastructure, and offering insurance solutions to support small farmers.