Latest news with #AmeerAjwad
Arab News
26-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Sri Lanka in talks with Middle East Green Initiative to explore climate partnership
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is exploring a potential partnership with the Middle East Green Initiative, Colombo's envoy to Riyadh told Arab News on Saturday, as the island nation seeks to step up partnerships to combat climate change. Sri Lanka — home to 22 million people — is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and is particularly at risk of extreme weather events, such as flooding and drought. On Monday, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh facilitated an introductory virtual meeting between its Ministry of Environment and the MGI secretary-general 'to explore potential ways and means for cooperation and partnership in the fields of environmental protection and sustainable development,' according to a statement. Led by Saudi Arabia, the MGI was established in 2021 as a regional alliance aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change and forging collaborations to meet global climate targets in the region. 'The MGI is an important regional initiative spearheaded by Saudi Arabia in combating challenges posed by climate change. We are pleased to see Saudi Arabia is giving a great leadership role in promoting climate action and environmental protection,' Ameer Ajwad, Sri Lanka's envoy to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News. Colombo is also keen to share its experience in climate resilience efforts. 'Sri Lanka is actively contributing to the global multilateral climate initiatives. Sri Lanka's expertise and rich experience in the field will be also useful for the MGI process for fostering environmental collaboration and advancing shared climate objectives,' Ajwad said. 'For example, Sri Lanka could contribute its expertise in the field of mangrove conservation and sea grass management, et cetera.' Sri Lanka has led several climate resilience efforts throughout the years, including restoration of its mangrove forests following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The country made a commitment to become the first to replant all of its mangrove forests — a goal the government sought to achieve by providing microloans and education to communities in exchange for mangrove conservation. In 2022, it launched the Sri Lankan Climate Prosperity Plan to attract foreign investment and accelerate climate adaptation while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Arab News
15-06-2025
- Arab News
Hajj operations set ‘global benchmark' in crowd management: Sri Lanka envoy
COLOMBO: Saudi Arabia's organization of this year's Hajj has set a new standard in crowd management through the use of advanced technologies, Sri Lanka's envoy said on Sunday, as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims started to return home. In the 2025 Hajj season, almost 1.7 million people undertook the spiritual journey that is one of the tenets of Islam. More than 1.5 million arrived in the Kingdom from abroad, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics. Pilgrims started to arrive in May, ahead of the main rituals which this year fell on June 6-10. Many have already departed for their countries of origin but special post-Hajj flights will continue to operate until mid-July. The way the temporary influx of people has been handled by the Kingdom has 'set a global benchmark in crowd management and smart innovation,' said Ameer Ajwad, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the Kingdom, who this year was part of his country's Hajj contingent. Technology has played a key role in monitoring footage from more than 15,000 cameras installed in and around the holy city of Makkah. The monitoring systems were designed to detect unusual crowd movements and anticipate bottlenecks in foot traffic to help prevent stampedes. 'The Kingdom set an exemplary global benchmark for crowd management by using AI-based crowd monitoring, predictive analytics as well as preventing unauthorized entries,' Ajwad told Arab News. 'Innovations by using advanced technologies such smart tents, digital tools and AI systems were also introduced to facilitate this year's Hajj arrangements.' More than 420,000 workers from the public and private sectors, including security services, served pilgrims during this year's Hajj, GASTAT data shows. The envoy highlighted the 'tireless services rendered by the Saudi security and military officers, as well as guides and volunteers,' and extended gratitude to the Ministry of Health for 'providing world-class healthcare services to the Hajj pilgrims (from) around the globe, including heart surgery for a Sri Lankan pilgrim.' About 3,500 Sri Lankans took part in the pilgrimage this year. Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the 22 million population of the island nation, which is predominantly Buddhist.
Arab News
24-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Sri Lanka holds tourism roadshow in Saudi Arabia
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh has been holding a tourism roadshow in the Kingdom to attract travelers from Saudi Arabia. The embassy organized the roadshow with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, with the first event held on Tuesday in Riyadh, and the second on Thursday in Alkhobar. Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ameer Ajwad inaugurated the roadshow which included several destination-management companies from both nations. Ajwad told Arab News on Thursday that the initiative marked a significant new chapter in Sri Lanka's tourism promotion efforts in Saudi Arabia as it comes after a six-year hiatus. He urged tourism firms of both nations to collaborate on marketing Sri Lanka. He said Saudi Arabia tourists are expected to spend $25.49 billion by 2027 on overseas travel. Ajwad said the two nations have strong ties and recently marked 50 years of diplomatic relations. 'As Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia are promoting the tourism industry in an active manner, both countries have huge potential to collaborate and complement each other in this sector. 'For this purpose, regular interaction between the inbound and outbound tour operators of both countries facilitated by both government authorities, will be helpful,' he added. Ajwad also launched on Tuesday a dedicated Snapchat account named 'Jannat Dunya' in Arabic for the promotion of Sri Lanka tourism in Saudi Arabia. Addressing the gathering, Sampath Nissanka, managing director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, provided an overview of his country's growing industry. He said Sri Lanka's was targeting 5 million arrivals by 2030 with high-end travelers accounting for 50 percent of that figure. Thusitha Wickramasinghe, country manager for Sri Lankan Airlines, and tourism representatives, highlighted the attractions of the country for travelers. The attractions include halal eateries, luxury wellness retreats, wildlife safaris and cultural experiences. A networking session between the visiting top 20 Sri Lankan tourism firms and their Saudi Arabia counterparts took place during the Riyadh event.
