Saudi Arabia has announced the establishment of a new international water research center. The center was established in a partnership between the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under the patronage of the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley. 

The announcement was made during the high-level dialogue session "Sustainable water management in arid and semi-arid regions for drought and land resilience," as part of the activities of the Sustainability Innovation Week during the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD Cop16). The center will be a leading global platform for applied research in the field of water research, including water economics, water security, water pollution, advanced technologies, and digital monitoring. 

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture said that the center aims to achieve progress in addressing fundamental water challenges at the international level and represents a unique scientific destination for academics and experts from around the world. The center will focus its efforts on developing sustainable solutions to environmental challenges such as water scarcity and pollution. It also aims to enhance scientific research efforts and the application of advanced technologies, which ensures the sustainability of water resources for current and future generations, with a commitment to achieving comprehensive economic and societal development. 

The Ministry emphasized that the center, which will be headquartered at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), seeks to enhance cooperation at the national and international levels with major research entities, while benefiting from the university's academic capabilities and advanced facilities in water research and development. These efforts will contribute to addressing international environmental challenges facing water sustainability around the world. 

The center also aspires to provide scientific and practical solutions that enhance the Kingdom's leadership in this field, while developing modern technologies that enhance competitiveness at the global level. The Ministry indicated that the research that the center will focus on includes diverse fields, such as water economics and related policies, enhancing water security by developing solutions for water management in arid regions, advanced technologies to treat water pollution and improve the quality of sewage, in addition to innovations in water treatment and production through advanced means, and developing digital monitoring tools that enhance analysis capabilities and support decision-making.