Saudi cabinet welcomes leaders ahead of Saudi and Middle East green initiative summits

The Council of Ministers holds its weekly meeting, chaired by King Salman remotely from NEOM on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (SPA)

• The Cabinet hailed the government’s success and efforts in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday welcomed world leaders, representatives and participants ahead of two environmental conferences that the Kingdom is set to host this week.
Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural Saudi Green Initiative Forum and the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in the capital, Riyadh, from Oct. 23 to 25.
The two initiatives were announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March and aim to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent in the region and plant 50 billion trees in the world’s biggest afforestation project.
The Council of Ministers made the statement during its weekly meeting, chaired by King Salman remotely from NEOM.
At the beginning of the session, the king briefed the Cabinet on the content of a letter he had received from Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, regarding the strong and solid relations that bind the two countries and peoples and ways to support and strengthen them in all fields.
The ministers reviewed the meetings and discussions that took place between the Kingdom and a number of countries over the last few days, to enhance aspects of joint and multilateral cooperation at various levels, and work to intensify coordination on regional and international issues.
Acting Minister of Media Essam bin Saad bin Saeed said that the Council of Ministers addressed the Kingdom’s statement during a G20 meeting held last week, of its interest in reforming the global economic system through the “Riyadh Initiative on the Future of the World Trade Organization,” which was approved by G20 leaders last year.
Ministers also stressed the Kingdom’s commitment “to continue supporting its business to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and comprehensive growth that creates a prosperous and promising future for the region and the world.”
The Cabinet hailed the government’s success and efforts in confronting the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and limiting its effects on all aspects of life, due to the strict proactive and precautionary measures, the efficiency of the health sector, and the rapid progress in the immunization campaign, with almost 45 million doses administered throughout the Kingdom to date.
The Cabinet authorized the foreign minister to sign a cooperation agreement with Honduras, and the information minister and chairman of the Radio and Television Authority to sign a cooperation agreement with Vietnam.
Ministers also approved a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission and the Sudanese Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority in the field of communications, information technology and post.