RIYADH — Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Mansour Al-Mushaiti highlighted the local and international efforts Saudi Arabia has exerted to preserve the natural resources.

He cited its successes in upgrading the efficiency and level of the fishing sector and enhancing its productivity to become a booster of food security and economic development as part of the objectives of the Kingdom Vision 2030.

This came during Al-Mushaiti's participation in the High Level International Conference on the Blue Belt Initiative held in the Moroccan city of Agadir.

He lauded the role being played by Saudi Arabia to apply the principle of inclusive sustainability in its capacity as a major pillar of the blue belt initiative despite that it is not located off shore any open sea or ocean, however, it believes in applying the best practices for resources, environment and food sustainability.

Al-Mushaiti drew attention to his department's application of wise fishing initiative aiming to produce more than half a million tons from sea fishing farms over the coming eight years.

Among the ministry's initiatives is also the research and development program aiming to ameliorate the efficiency of local fishing sector, he said.

He announced, in this regard, the Ministry's plan to hold the Middle East first international conference on algae and seaweed scheduled for Riyadh on the Feb. 12, 2023, to launch an executive road map for giant projects. — SPA