PM Imran Khan likely to visit Saudi Arabia on crown prince's invitation: sources

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to visit Saudi Arabia on the invitation from Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman to attend the Middle East Green Initiative Conference, ARY NEWS reported.

According to sources privy to the development, Saudi ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Bin Said Al-Maliki has extended an invitation of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman to Imran Khan.

The prime minister will likely attend the Middle East Green Initiative Conference scheduled between 23 and 25 October.

In a recent conversation between Imran Khan and Muhammed bin Salman, the prime minister recalled the two historic initiatives announced by the crown prince to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change and environmental degradation and thanked him for inviting him to participate in the Launch ceremony of the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI), scheduled in Riyadh in October this year.

In March 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the leaders of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Sudan to discuss a massive regional tree-planting project.

“The Middle East Green Initiative aims, in partnership with the countries of the region, to plant 50 billion trees as the largest reforestation program in the world,” SPA said.

The crown prince unveiled the ambitious campaign on Saturday that sees Saudi Arabia planting 10 billion trees in coming decades and working with other Arab states to plant another 40 billion trees, to reduce carbon emissions and combat pollution and land degradation.

SPA added that the initiative also aims “to enhance the efficiency of oil production and increase the contribution of renewable energy, in addition to multiple efforts to preserve the marine and coastal environment, and increase the percentage of natural reserves.”

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.