Saudi T20 chair unveils priorities at conference

RIYADH: The Saudi chairmanship of the T20, an official G20 engagement group, unveiled its priorities to top think tanks and research centers at a two-day conference.

“When we announced the priorities and themes, there was massive interest from everybody around the globe: Think tanks, research centers and subject matter experts … We worked hard to bring forth priorities that matter,” said Dr. Fahad Al-Turki, Saudi T20 chair and vice president of research at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC).
More than 150 institutions and think tanks, and over 550 attendees from 65 countries, participated in the T20 Inception Conference.
It convened experts from all over the world to discuss a range of issues including climate, energy, migration, youth, innovation, technology, multilateralism, economic development, finance, food security and access to water.
Al-Turki told Arab News that there were some 570 research abstract submissions, a record number for the T20, whose main mission is to come up with research-based policy recommendations to be presented to G20 leaders.
“We look forward to bringing all these abstracts to publication and translating them into policy recommendations to present to the Saudi leadership to present to G20 leaders at the G20 Riyadh Summit in November,” Al-Turki said.

From early 2019, KAPSARC and the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies started collecting research on important topics that can be brought to the attention of G20 leaders, he added.
Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 is “a great opportunity, four years after the introduction of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program, and initiatives to empower women, improve quality of life and showcase Saudi Arabia as a major tourism destination to the globe,” Al-Turki said.
Through its G20 presidency, Saudi Arabia aims to enhance cooperation and find international consensus on issues that affect the global economy.
“This is our opportunity to have an influence and present a world view to the rest of the world,” Al-Turki said.
Recognizing the urgency to act on the climate while ensuring access to clean and affordable energy for all, Saudi Arabia is promoting the circular carbon economy model as a sustainable, pragmatic and cost-effective approach to achieve ambitious climate goals.
The conference discussed various facets, stages, challenges and policy pathways to realize a circular carbon economy.
“The climate and environment taskforce is led by one of our researchers at KAPSARC, Dr. Noura Al-Mansouri,” said Al-Turki.
“On April 1, we’ll have the first draft of the policy brief and policy recommendations for all taskforces, including the climate.”