Beth: His Excellency the Saudi Deputy Minister for International Affairs, Dr. Ryadh Alkhareif, participated virtually in the “Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum (ADSFF)” for the year 2022, organized by the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The Forum brought together major investors, heads of state and finance ministers from different countries to discuss areas of cooperation to increase the flow of capital towards sustainable investment, as well as exploring the latest innovative solutions to stimulate multiple sources of financing.

The Deputy Minister participated in a session on zero neutrality. The topics of discussion included developments in the global economy, the role of the financial sector in sustainable finance, in addition to measures related to combating climate change. With regard to the global economy, he explained that the global economy faced the worst crisis since World War II as a result of the pandemic, noting that its impact was relatively higher on fragile and low-income countries and women. In this context, Dr. Alkhareif stressed the importance of climate change policies and green finance to be “realistic, inclusive, and balanced” in order to avoid any negative repercussions on the global economy. Dr. Alkhareif stated that the Kingdom has made commendable efforts in the field of combating climate change. Notably, the Kingdom announced its goal to reach “net-zero emissions” by 2060, through the framework of the circular carbon economy, in line with the Kingdom’s development plans and economic diversification in accordance with Vision 2030. He also referred to some of the initiatives launched by the Kingdom, such as the Green Saudi Initiative and the Green Middle East Initiative, and the ongoing efforts towards advancing hydrogen production. Dr. Alkhareif explained that such initiatives will provide ample investment opportunities for the private sector, which will contribute to supporting economic diversification and jobs creation.

On a related note, Dr. Alkhareif stated that the Kingdom has successfully tackled the pandemic on the back of the government’s swift and strong support, including through programs to protect jobs and provide adequate resources to the health sector. He indicated that economic indicators point to recovery and growth of the private sector. With regards to the financial sector in the Kingdom, he explained that the credit expansion to the private sector continued without interruption during the pandemic. Dr. Alkhareif indicated that the Kingdom has the largest capital market in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). He added that despite the pandemic, the Kingdom was able to issue sovereign bonds with a negative yield, which is a reflection of the successful reforms made in developing and deepening the domestic debt market in the Kingdom.

It is worth noting that the Forum comes in its fourth edition as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The Forum, with the purpose it bears, has year-on-year formed its reputation as an invaluable platform for sustainable finance engagement and industry collaborations in the Middle East and Africa regions since its inception by Abu Dhabi Global Market in January 2018.