JEDDAH: Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, said it would work with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to invest in the Kingdom’s green initiatives. RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said: “RDIF is very impressed with Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiative, announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Russia and Saudi Arabia will continue (our) strategic partnership in many areas including the Green Initiative.” The Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, which were announced by the crown prince on Saturday, aim to combat climate change, reduce carbon emissions in the region by 60 percent, halt land degradation, preserve marine life and raise vegetation cover by planting 10 billion trees in the Kingdom, and enhance efficiency of oil production. The initiatives are expected to eliminate more than 130 million tons of carbon emissions by using clean hydrocarbon technologies in the Kingdom. As both Saudi Arabia and Russia are leading oil producers, Dmitriev has previously met with senior members of the Saudi government to continue cooperation on a number of projects and projects. Dmitriev added: “Another important initiative by the Kingdom is the program to strengthen the partnership with the private sector, that will attract additional capital into the Saudi economy and ensure further growth and prosperity.” The investment partnership between the PIF and RDIF was formed in 2015. In 2017, the Russia-Saudi investment fund was established by RDIF and the PIF, with a total commitment of $6 billion to focus on projects to foster economic cooperation between the two nations. In 2019, RDIF became the first Russian investment institution to open an office in Saudi Arabia.