New York, 25 September 2025 – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia spotlighted regional leadership in climate action by hosting a high-level roundtable on the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, under the theme “A Regional Pathway to Climate Action, Sustainable Development, and Resilience.”

Launched in 2021, the MGI is the world’s first regional alliance dedicated to tackling the Middle East’s unique environmental challenges, from land degradation to water scarcity and rising temperatures. The initiative aims to reduce carbon emissions, protect ecosystems, and foster a thriving green economy through innovation, investment, and multilateral cooperation.

In his remarks, Dr. Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment, KSA, underlined the importance of land stewardship: “The Middle East Green Initiative comes from a deep understanding of the importance of land to life. The abundance of soil masks its great value – it takes nature around 1000 years to create 1 centimeter of soil, while it takes us 2 short years to destroy it.”

Adding to this, Dr. Abdallah Al Dardari, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Arab States, stressed the financing dimension: “The Middle East Green Initiative represents a unique platform to close financing gaps and deliver long-term structural solutions – strengthening partnerships and mobilizing greater investment in nature-based solutions, including land restoration.”

The event featured keynote interventions, expert presentations, and a dynamic panel discussion exploring multi-stakeholder engagement for land and ecosystem restoration at scale. Participants emphasized that tackling climate and land degradation challenges requires regional collaboration, innovative financing, and integrated landscape management.

The session concluded with the signing of an MOU between MGI and UNDP, cementing their partnership to scale up sustainable land management solutions, restore degraded ecosystems, and generate green livelihoods.

By convening this roundtable at UNGA80, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its role as a global convener of regional climate action, demonstrating how the Middle East Green Initiative is driving synergies between local priorities and global sustainability goals.