The Second Ministerial Meeting between the Member States of the Arab League and the Pacific Small Island Developing States has adopted the “Riyadh Declaration” to continue to develop joint efforts for cooperation between the two parties in the field of economy, development, and environment. The following are the highlights of the meeting:
Joint Partnership and Commitment
The participants of the meeting reaffirmed their joint commitment to developing a constructive partnership between the League of Arab States and the Pacific Small Island Developing States to strengthen South-South cooperation and achieve mutual benefit.
Climate Change
The meeting recognized the Pacific Islands Forum Declaration on the Conservation of Marine Areas in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea Level Rise and the Paris Agreement. He called for stronger and more ambitious climate action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The meeting stressed the importance of protecting marine resources from environmental pollution by radioactive waste and other radioactive materials, as well as plastics.
Areas of Mutual Interest
The meeting expressed a common desire to expand cooperation and establish partnerships between the Arab countries and the Pacific island countries in various areas of mutual interest, including diplomatic relations, economics, trade, investment, renewable energy, tourism and transport, environmental protection and conservation of regions Marine environment, biodiversity, meteorology, disaster response, science and technology, communications, marine resources, culture and dialogue of civilizations, education, scientific and academic exchanges, health and humanitarian assistance, infrastructure, capacity building, human resource development, agriculture and food security, sustainable development, and human relations.
Conclusion
The meeting stressed the need to move forward with the work on concluding a memorandum of understanding between the two sides to deepen the relationship of cooperation between the two sides, as well as holding periodic meetings between His Excellency the Secretary General and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Development of Pacific Small Island States on the sidelines of the meetings of the UN General Assembly in NYC. The participants agreed to hold a third ministerial meeting of the Arab countries and the Pacific small island developing States at a date and place to be determined by both parties at a later date. The meeting concluded with sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their hospitality and warm welcome.
