Under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – May God Protect Him, His Excellency Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Alfadley commenced the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World. The conference organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) will be held on October 18-19,2023و in Jeddah.

In his opening speech, Alfadley welcomed environment ministers from 52 countries and delegates from 30 regional and international organizations dedicated to environmental matters. He stressed that cooperation and collaboration between the Islamic nations play a critical role in environment protection, sustainability, and tackling global environmental challenges.

His Excellency expressed the solidarity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the Palestinian people due to the severe suffering of the inhumane Israeli aggression. H.E. Alfadley also requested the international community to take a responsible stance and emphasized the necessity of adhering to the provisions of international and humanitarian laws. Furthermore, he expressed solidarity of Saudi Arabia with Morocco, and Libya while facing the aftermath of recent natural disasters in their countries.

"Preserving the environment is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030, as it adopted the National Environment Strategy, established the fund and five environmental centers, as well as launched initiatives such as the Saudi Green Initiative and regionally Middle East Green Initiative," Alfadley added.

As part of its ongoing global engagement, Saudi Arabia cooperated with many countries and international organizations to launch the Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats Platform. Last month, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister - may God protect him - announced the establishment of the Global Water Organization, headquartered in Riyadh. Next year, Saudi Arabia will host the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16), and World Environment Day 2024.

At the conclusion of his speech, His Excellency extended congratulations to the recipients of the Kingdom Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World during its third session.

 The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Mr. Hussein Taha pointed out the seriousness of environmental security and its comprehensive impact, which requires urgent and coordinated action from all countries, especially since the Islamic world is one of the regions of the world most affected by global climate change.

 The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim Al-Malik, mentioned environmental challenges facing the Islamic world, including issues such as global warming, the surge in greenhouse gas emissions, rising global temperatures, loss of biodiversity, plastic pollution, and more. He further noted that the scale of these challenges places a significant responsibility on the Islamic world.