Meeting Overview: IsDB Group President Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Jasser and UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw met in Jeddah to discuss cooperation for the upcoming COP 16 conference.
Significant Conference: The 16th UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP 16) will be held in Riyadh from December 2 to 13, marking the largest multilateral conference in Saudi Arabia for 2024 and the first COP in the Middle East.
30th Anniversary: The conference will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, one of the three Rio Conventions, alongside the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
On August 21, 2024, at the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jeddah, a pivotal meeting took place between IsDB Group President Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Jasser and Ibrahim Thiaw, the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The discussion centered on enhancing cooperation in anticipation of the upcoming 16th session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP 16), set to be held in Riyadh from December 2 to 13.
The Riyadh COP 16 Conference is poised to be a landmark event, marking the largest gathering of the UNCCD's 197 member countries and the first such conference to be hosted in the Middle East. This conference holds particular significance as it will be the largest multilateral event hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2024. It also commemorates the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, one of the three major environmental treaties collectively known as the Rio Conventions. The other two treaties are the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The meeting underscored the importance of collaborative efforts in addressing desertification and other environmental challenges, reflecting a commitment to fostering international cooperation and advancing global environmental goals.