RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the One Water Summit held in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Prince Mohammed met with French President Emmanuel Macron and heads of top French companies.

They discussed efforts to combat desertification, exchanging expertise and innovative technologies, and enhancing research and development to address water challenges and ensure the sustainability of water resources.

The crown prince also met with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, Prime Minister of Mongolia, Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Ajaypal Singh Banga, President of the World Bank Group.

The meetings revolved around bilateral relations, joint coordination to address environmental challenges related to water scarcity and drought, in addition to issues of mutual interest.

The summit was jointly chaired by Saudi Arabia, France and Kazakhstan, and supported by the World Bank.

It underscored Saudi Arabia’s pioneering international role in confronting water challenges across the world and its commitment to sustainable environmental issues.

During his opening remarks, the crown prince said the summit was being held in conjunction with the Kingdom hosting the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, which aims to reduce land degradation and drought.

He said that the Kingdom had contributed $6 billion in supporting 200 water-related projects in more than 60 developing countries around the world.