First “green Mideast initiative” session held with Kuwait’s participation

the first session of the ministerial council of the "Green Middle East" initiative kicked started in Jeddah on Wednesday, under chairmanship of Saudi ArabiA with participation of Kuwait, namely the Acting Director General of the Environment Public Authority Samira Al-Kandari. In her statement at the session, Al-Kandari affirmed the State of Kuwait's support for the initiative, aimed at boosting cooperation to stem land degredation, boost and sustainably manage vegetations. The initiative, she said, constitutes a prioneering step for a future sustainable environment, with cutting of contamination emissions and expanding green spots. She indicated that Kuwait would endorse the initiative charter, indicating that it had already already launched projects in tune with the initiative, such as increasing spaces of the natural reserves, planting mangroves on a wide scale, setting up a grain bank and reclaiming deteriorated soil. The initiative primarily aims at planting up to 50 billion trees throughout the Middl e East and back up regional efforts to stem emissions of carbon dioxide. Saudi Arabia, in March 2022, launched the initiative to cope with the climatic change repercussions in the Middle East and North Africa. In November 2022, it allocated USD 2.5 billion to cover its operating budget for ten years, in addition to hosting its secretariat general in Riyadh. Source: Kuwait News Agency