Egypt, KSA to witness intensive cooperation in coming period

CAIRO – 14 November 2018: Vice President of the Saudi Wildfire Authority Hani Ttawni affirmed Wednesday, Nov. 14 that Egypt and Saudi Arabia will witness intensive cooperation in the coming period.

He added that the mutual cooperation between the two countries aims at exchanging expertise in the field of environmental protection in accordance with the international obligations.

This comes during Ttawni's interview with the Middle East Agency on the sidelines of his participation in the 14th meeting of the conference of the parties at the UN convention on Biological Diversity (COP 14) held in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Ttawni added that the issue of biological diversity is an issue of top priority to Saudi Arabia, especially in the presence of the industrial, mining and hunting practices which certainly affect the environment.

He said coordinated efforts should be exerted to face the impact of climate change, adding that Saudi Arabia has a strategy to plant 10 million trees by 2020 to face desertification.

The Biological Diversity Conference is held under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and is scheduled to continue until Nov. 29 with the participation of 196 countries.

The Conference on Biological Diversity, chaired by Egypt, is one of the largest United Nations' conferences.

During the conference, Egypt is set to launch a world initiative to promote the use of ecosystems to better handle the shortage in biodiversity, climate change and land degradation.

Also, Egypt’s Prime Minister and Minister of Housing Mostafa Madbouli chaired Wednesday, Nov. 14 the African ministerial meeting in the Biological Diversity Conference held in Sharm el-Shiekh.

Madbouli discussed policies and strategic directions regarding the continent's biodiversity priorities, and focused on the restoration of ecosystems through addressing land degradation, climate change, migration and biodiversity.

Furthermore, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad underlined the efforts exerted by Egypt to draw up roadmaps that go in harmony with the United Nations agreements.