RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s green commitments are creating a “golden opportunity” for the region to boost its sustainability practices, according to the program director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in the Kingdom.
Speaking at the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week in Riyadh, Ayman Omer insisted that the Kingdom's work in this area is leading the way thanks to the commitment of the government.
His comments came during a panel discussion at the event, which has been organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the Saudi Green Initiative opens a lot of opportunities for other countries in the region. The Kingdom is very open to experiment and to be a platform for knowledge for all countries to learn from, successes and mistakes. This is a golden opportunity for the region,” said Omer.
Speaking to Arab News, he added: “In the session that we just finished now, I talk about the government commitment, and I think this is really one of the strongest assets of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia right now, which is they are very much committed to the issues around climate change.”
The FAO program, which hinges on cooperation with Saudi Arabia, echoes the notions of “common but differentiated responsibility” instilled within the Paris Agreement.
Since its inception, the Kingdom’s relationship with the FAO has been evolving. As a grassroots organization dedicated to tangible initiatives within Saudi Arabia, it has played a crucial role in assisting the Ministry of Agriculture achieve the sustainable development goals set within the SGI by Vision 2030.
Omer said: “We work together in partnership with the ministry. The ministry has a platform on a mobile platform called Logitech. This is an extension platform targeting the smaller scale producers and we help a lot in terms of the technical content of the extension messages going to the farmers and others.”
