Imran praises Saudi crown prince's newly-launched 10b-tree drive, offers Pakistan's support

Gulf Today Report

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday appreciated Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for two green initiatives that the Kingdom has recently taken.

Saudi Arabia aims to plant 10 billion trees in the coming decades as part of an ambitious campaign unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to reduce carbon emissions and combat pollution and land degradation.

Later during the day, Prince Mohammad Bin Salman invited Imran Khan to the Kingdom, as both leaders reaffirmed the resolve to boost bilateral ties.

The development came during a telephonic conversation between the crown prince and the prime minister, hours after the premier had penned a letter to MBS, lauding the launch of the "Saudi Green Initiative" and "Green Middle East" initiative.

PM's Office, in a series of tweets, said the premier and the crown prince agreed to work together to further augment bilateral ties in all spheres. The crown prince invited the prime minister to undertake a visit to Saudi Arabia in the near future — and the premier accepted his offer.

Taking to Twitter, Imran wrote that he is "delighted to learn about Green Saudi Arabia and Green Middle East initiative taken by (his) brother, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman."

“(We) have offered our support on these as there are many complementarities with our "Clean & Green Pakistan" & "10 Billion-Tree Tsunami," Imran wrote.

The premier also attached a copy of the letter that he wrote to the Saudi Arabian crown prince, in which he provided details of the two initiatives that the Kingdom has taken.

Aside from the plantation of trees, the initiatives will work on expanding protected areas by more than 30%, protection of marine and coastal environment, and the generation of 50% of the Kingdom’s energy from renewables by 2030, the letter mentioned.

“The vision of Your Royal Highness closely aligns with our own “Clean and Green Pakistan Initiative,” which is investing in nature-based solutions to address Climate Change impacts in the country,” the PM wrote in the letter.

Solar dishes are seen behind trees at the King Abdulaziz city of Sciences and Technology. Reuters

“After successfully planting 1 billion trees from 2014 to 2018, our “10 Billion Tree Tsunami” initiative is well underway across the whole country.”

The Saudi Green Initiative is part of the prince's Vision 2030 plan to  improve the quality of life in the country.