NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia has taken great steps to harness science, technology and innovation, the president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology has told a forum in New York. Munir El-Desouki represented the Kingdom on Friday in the ministerial session of the seventh UN Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals. The event aimed to encourage technical solutions to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and promote sustainable development. El-Desouki previously supervised the founding team of the Kingdom’s Research, Development and Innovation Authority, which was established in 2021. He told the UN forum that the Kingdom has taken great steps to harness science, technology and innovation, achieve sustainable development goals and promote sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic through a contribution of $500 million to support global efforts. He added that the effective use of digital tools and platforms in the Kingdom ensured the continuation of business and government operations during and after the pandemic.  HIGHLIGHTS • The Kingdom has taken great steps to harness science, technology and innovation, achieve sustainable development goals and promote sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic through a contribution of $500 million to support global efforts. • The effective use of digital tools and platforms in the Kingdom ensured the continuation of business and government operations during and after the pandemic. The KACST president said that the Kingdom’s establishment of a higher committee and authority specialized in research, development and innovation will enable its transition toward an innovation-based economy based on the private sector. He said that the Kingdom has launched many important initiatives to support research, development and innovation in the areas of the digital, circular carbon, and health economies. It also launched The Line project in NEOM as a modern model for future cities that aims to be completely renewable, he added. The city will include interconnected cognitive communities enhanced by artificial intelligence, stretching more than 170 kilometers within an environment without noise or pollution, and free of vehicles and congestion. El-Desouki referred to the Kingdom’s launch of the Saudi Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative, which aim to plant more than 50 billion trees, displacing about 130 million tons of carbon emissions as a result. The KACST president described the projects as “clear and ambitious landmarks.”