KYOTO — President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Dr. Munir Al-Dasouki has stressed that science and technology are two main drivers in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 to achieve sustainability and confront global challenges such as climate change, food security, health crises, and advances in artificial intelligence. Al-Dasouki explained in his speech while chairing Saudi Arabia's delegation participating in the opening session of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum, currently being held in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Saudi Arabia seeks to produce up to 600 tons of green hydrogen by 2026 after establishing the world's largest green hydrogen plant, which will save the planet from around 5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Dr. Al-Desouki explained that Saudi Arabia, as part of its contributions to global efforts to achieve sustainability and well-being, has developed renewable energy technologies by launching the largest carbon capture and storage centers in the world with a capacity of 9 million tons annually by 2027 and expanding it to 44 million tons by 2035. He reviewed Saudi Arabia's pioneering initiatives in preserving public health through solutions developed by KACST in cooperation with its partners to combat dengue fever and reduce cases of infection by 70% by 2027, using environmentally friendly biological control techniques. He stated that Saudi Arabia has succeeded in developing sustainable solutions by launching a platform to monitor the Earth and agricultural activities to preserve groundwater using space application technologies, as it was able to save 9 billion cubic meters of groundwater resources in Saudi by 70% by 2027, using environmentally friendly biological control technologies. Saudi Arabia makes huge investments in nurturing young scientists, researchers and innovators, with KACST launching initiatives in Web 3 applications for immersive technologies, electronic games and augmented reality, with the aim of equipping them with the skills needed to lead digital transformation and contribute to economic diversification. Al-Dasouki stressed that the establishment of the "Garage" business incubator and accelerator provides an integrated work environment for entrepreneurs and emerging companies in deep technologies, supports their growth, and bridges the gap from the laboratory to the market, which reflects the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in supporting the future directions of Saudi Arabia. The Garage hosts more than 200 emerging companies and entrepreneurs from more than 50 countries around the world. He welcomed the leaders of research, development and innovation participating in the forum to visit Riyadh Expo 2030, which focuses on science and technology under the title "A Different Tomorrow", where Saudi Arabia will showcase the role of future innovations in creating a more sustainable and prosperous world for coming generations. The meeting discussed several topics related to research and development, enhancing innovation, cybersecurity, renewable energy, healthcare, and digital transformation.
