RIYADH — Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Inaugural Chairman of Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform Dr. Osama Faqeeha has stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is home to the Red Sea's most resilient coral reefs, voicing the Kingdom's commitment to preserve and restore them and protect its marine biodiversity.

Dr. Faqeeha's remarks came during the inaugural meeting of the governance committee of the Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform, which has been announced following a meeting of the initiative's founding committee, which comprised 16 member states of the G20 in addition to the European Union.

During the meeting, Dr. Faqeeha was elected as chairman of the platform's governance committee, and Jennifer Koss, director the Coral Reef Conservation Program at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as deputy chairman.

Dr. Faqeeha has been quoted in the statement as underlying the importance of the platform, announced by the G20 leaders, in accelerating scientific knowledge and conversation and restoration of coral reefs around the world using the latest technologies. — SPA