ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has accepted the invitation of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to attend the ‘Middle East Green Initiative’ summit in October, the PM Office said on Friday.
Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki presented the formal invitation from the crown prince to Khan in a visit to see the PM on Friday.
“The Prime Minister graciously accepted the invitation,” the PM Office said.
The Middle East initiative “aligns closely with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s climate change initiatives – ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ and the ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’,” state-run APP news agency said.
“The invitation extended to the Prime Minister is an acknowledgment of Pakistan’s leading role in combating climate change,” the PM Office said.
In March Khan welcomed the “Green Saudi Arabia” and “Green Middle East” initiatives of the Saudi crown prince, saying they complimented Pakistan’s own initiatives to battle climate change.
The crown prince called the leaders of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Sudan that month to discuss a massive regional tree-planting project.
The Saudi Green Initiative is part of the prince’s Vision 2030 plan to reduce its reliance on oil revenues and improve quality of life. The crown prince unveiled the ambitious campaign on Saturday that will see Saudi Arabia planting 10 billion trees in the coming decades and working with other Arab states to plant another 40 billion trees, reduce carbon emissions and combat pollution and land degradation.
“Am delighted to learn of ‘Green Saudi Arabia’ & ‘Green Middle East’ initiatives by my brother, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman!” Khan had written on Twitter. “Have offered our support on these as there are many complementarities with our ‘Clean & Green Pakistan’ & ‘10 Billion-Tree Tsunami’.”