RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Japan have signed a deal to extend cooperation in the area of seawater desalination as both countries aim to explore new technologies to produce water using environmentally friendly renewable energy. The Saline Water Conversion Corp., a Saudi governmental institution responsible for seawater desalination and delivery, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese Shinshu University to propel the growth in the sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported. As part of the deal, both parties will work together to develop reverse osmosis technologies for seawater and other related processes in order to expel salts from washing processes for osmosis technologies. In addition to this, they will also cooperate in developing innovative top-notch technologies such as zero-liquid discharge, micro membranes, and seawater mining technologies. Moreover, the two sides will also join forces in using advanced and innovative environmentally friendly green energy for water applications and any other field agreed upon by both parties. The signing of the MoU was attended by Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih as well as Japan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Fumio Iwai, along with several officials from both sides. SWCC recently announced that it achieved a milestone in water security by increasing its water production capacity to 11.5 million cubic meters a day, making it the world’s largest producer of desalinated water. According to its second annual sustainability report released last week, the state-run institution accomplished this feat in line with its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 37 tons by the end of 2025. “We are proud of our contribution to the Saudi Green Initiative as we achieved high-performance levels while managing our costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions appropriately,” said SWCC Gov. Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Abdulkarim in the foreword of the sustainability report. The report also shed light on the innovative solutions, methods, and approaches the company pursued to achieve its established strategy, especially aspects related to governance structure, communication with stakeholders and environmental, economic and social sustainability. SWCC currently runs 30 desalination plants with a production capacity of around 7.5 million cubic meters per day and 139 purification stations with a total of about 4 million m3 per day, supported by a team of over 9,000 employees.