The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) to explore avenues of cooperation in biodiversity sustainability, support for marine environment protection initiatives and assess the impact of coastal tourism activities on the Red Sea. The MoU also aims to leverage their combined capabilities and expertise to achieve mutual benefits. 

The MoU was signed by Mr. Mohammed Al-Nasser, CEO of the Saudi Red Sea Authority, and Tony Chan, president of KAUST. 

The signing of the MoU aligns with the Authority’s responsibilities, which include ensuring environmental protection in areas where coastal tourism activities take place and building human capacity through training and qualification programs for national talents in specialized fields to meet the needs of the coastal tourism sector. 

The MoU between SRSA and KAUST aims to explore collaboration in various areas, including identifying and ensuring the sustainability of existing biodiversity along the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia, exchanging information and expertise, providing studies, reports and consultations. Additionally, it aims to support marine environment protection initiatives. 

The MoU also outlines cooperation to assess the impact of tourism activities on the marine environment, evaluate environmental and economic factors, update information on new international standards, regulations, or technologies and explore how to enhance the preservation of the marine environment amidst the growth of industries.  

Furthermore, the MoU seeks to align strategies in terms of planning and implementing ongoing and new initiatives that support coastal tourism in the Red Sea. It also covers collaboration in hosting joint events in related fields. 

This MoU is part of KAUST efforts to expand its strategic partnerships, exchange expertise and adopt best practices to strengthening international and local partnerships, as well as contributing to the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030 targets.