RIYADH: The Saudi government has inked a deal with NEOM to cooperate on environmental issues linked to the megacity project in the Kingdom’s northwest. Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and NEOM aimed at jointly dealing with matters related to the scheme’s impact on the environment. The MoU, signed by the Environment Ministry’s undersecretary, Dr. Osama bin Ibrahim Faqiha, and NEOM’s chief executive officer, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, will see the two parties form a joint working team to implement the terms of the agreement. Officials will partner in raising environmental obligations, working together to satisfy the necessary requirements and controls for issuing environmental licenses, permits, and approvals for the NEOM project, exploring areas for cooperation on environmental studies, linking information systems, and developing national capacities to respond to environmental accidents. The ministry’s team will issue environmental permits in coordination with the national environmental center and relevant authorities, verify the conformity of environmental studies with the Kingdom’s environmental standards and regulations, seek to reduce the environmental impact of the scheme, and coordinate with project officials and other governmental authorities to obtain approvals for NEOM work to progress.