Saudi Arabia to hand over UNCCD presidency to Mongolia at COP17

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will participate in the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Mongolia on Monday, marking the conclusion of its landmark presidency.

The COP17 summit, which runs from Aug. 17 to 28 in Ulaanbaatar, brings together states, parties, international organizations, and key environmental stakeholders. Saudi Arabia will formally hand over the COP presidency to Mongolia following a term defined by the rollout of major global initiatives launched at COP16 in Riyadh.

Building on its expanding role in international environmental diplomacy, the Kingdom will use the conference to highlight key global programs launched during its tenure and report on the progress achieved.

These include the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, the Riyadh Action Agenda — which has expanded from 35 to more than 100 initiatives — the Sand and Dust Storm Monitoring Initiative, and the operationalization of the Land4Business framework.

The handover follows Saudi Arabia’s hosting of COP16 in Riyadh in December 2024, which marked the first time a Middle Eastern country had presided over the UN’s primary land degradation conference. That historic summit set a precedent by mobilizing a record $12 billion in financial commitments  — including $10 billion from the Arab Coordination Group — and bringing together nearly 45,000 delegates across 197 represented parties.

Saudi Arabia’s national delegation will also showcase domestic and regional efforts to safeguard natural resources, expand vegetation cover, and combat land degradation, in line with Sustainable Development Goals. These efforts align with the national targets set under Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative, which seeks to restore 40 million hectares of degraded land and plant 10 billion trees nationwide over the coming decades.

The Kingdom’s hosting of COP16 marked the largest conference in the UNCCD’s history. Bringing together 197 parties  — 196 countries alongside the EU  — the Riyadh summit resulted in 39 landmark decisions and mobilized about $12 billion to support global land restoration and drought resilience.

Saudi Arabia will host a national pavilion in the Blue Zone at COP17 featuring over 40 side events, alongside a dedicated pavilion for the Middle East Green Initiative.

Prior to the handover, the Kingdom will chair the final meeting of the COP Bureau. It will also convene the second meeting of the Steering Committee and the inaugural assembly of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, following preparatory international rounds in Panama, Bonn, Cairo, and Nairobi.

Saudi Arabia said it remains committed to collaborating with international parties to advance global land restoration and drought mitigation efforts through unified multilateral action.