The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) commended the “Middle East Green initiative” that H.R.H. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced its upcoming launch. The initiative seeks to boost the effort towards renewable energy production, enhance environmental protection undertakings by planting 50 billion trees in partnership with the Middle East countries.

ICESCO appreciates the outstanding initiative, which will be at the core of a clear and ambitious roadmap that will enable it to further contribute to increasing the production of clean energy, attain the global objective of planting 1 trillion trees, and restore 200 hectares of degraded land, to reduce global carbon emissions by 2.5%.

ICESCO affirms its willingness to cooperate and work with the Middle East Green initiative, whose objectives are aligned with the Organization’s new working strategy which adopts environment protection issues through ambitious programmes and projects to improve ecological conditions and foster and manage water resources. It also seeks to coordinate cooperation with the Islamic world countries in these fields, embodied in ICESCO’s deep interest in organizing the Islamic World of Environment Ministers Conference of which the 8^th session was held in October 2019. ICESCO will ensure that the initiative of the Saudi Crown Prince will be at the core of the agenda of the 9^th session of the Conference.

In cooperation with the competent Saudi authorities, ICESCO will also sustain the excellence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World. The Organization acts as the Secretariat of the Award for which it will launch the call for papers for its upcoming session.