<His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated today in the capital, Riyadh, the work of the Green Middle East Initiative Summit, with wide international participation led by heads of state and decision makers in the world, to draw a regional map to preserve life and raise its quality, in an initiative offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make a global difference in preserving nature, human and animal life and facing the challenges of climate change.At the beginning of the summit, His Highness the Crown Prince delivered the following speech:
Your Highnesses, Excellencies and Dignitaries, Distinguished attendees, Salam alaikum, God's mercy and blessings, We welcome you today in your second country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the first summit of the Green Middle East Initiative (GMEI).<We meet today at this summit to coordinate efforts towards protecting the environment and confronting climate change, and to develop a roadmap to reduce carbon emissions in the region by more than (10%) global contributions, and plant (50) billion trees in the region according to a program that is the largest tree planting program in the world and contributes to achieving (5%) of the global target for afforestation, We aim today at this summit to work together to develop a regional roadmap and work methodology to enable the achievement of these ambitious targets.<The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that traditional energy sources have been the most important reason for the transformation of the countries of the region and the world from traditional economies to globally active economies, and the main driver of the fastest economic growth ever known to mankind. Today we are ushering in a new green era for the region, led and harvested together, believing that the effects of climate change are not limited to the natural environment, but include the economy and security, and yet, we recognize that climate change is an economic opportunity for individuals and the private sector, which will be catalyzed by the Green Middle East Initiative, to create quality jobs and foster innovation in the region.<There are gaps in the climate action ecosystem in the region, and by coordinating regional efforts and sharing expertise and technologies, we can make accelerated achievements in our initiatives. To enable this, the Kingdom announces that it will work to establish a cooperation platform to implement the concept of a circular carbon economy, establish a regional climate change center, establish a regional carbon capture, use and storage complex, establish a regional storm early warning center, establish a regional center for sustainable fisheries development, and establish a regional cloud seeding program. These centers and programs will play a major role in creating the necessary infrastructure to protect the environment, reduce emissions and improve regional coordination. As an extension of the Kingdom's leading role in developing energy markets, we will establish a fund to invest in carbon circular economy solutions in the region and a global initiative to provide clean fuel solutions to provide food for more than 750 million people worldwide. The total investment in these two initiatives is approximately SAR 39 billion, of which the Kingdom will contribute to financing approximately 15%. The Kingdom will work with countries and regional and international development funds to explore ways to finance and implement these initiatives. In order to raise the level of coordination, we announce the establishment of the Green Initiative Foundation as a non-profit organization to support the work of the Summit. In conclusion, facing climate change requires us to work jointly towards developing technologies and creating the appropriate environment for their financing, preserving the natural resources that our region possesses, and strengthening cooperation between us for this purpose. I now invite brothers and sisters to participate in the Summit and deliver their speeches, wishing our work success. Salam alaykum, rahmatullah wa barakat.
<The summit was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy; His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State and Cabinet Member; His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior; His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of National Guard; His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs; His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture; HE Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al Qasabi; HE Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih; HE Minister of Energy Eng.
