The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) is working with its counterparts of Arab standardization bodies to consolidate means of joint Arab cooperation in the fields of specialization in order to enhance the pivotal role of the quality infrastructure system in developing the Arab economy and supporting mechanisms of intra-trade, especially that the world today is witnessing rapid changes in the fields of industry and technology, which requires us to support and adopt sustainability practices and applications, effectively and continuously.

      The world's transformation towards investing in smart solutions and environmentally friendly green cities as well as focusing on sustainability solutions is one of the most important international industrial and investment trends. Nowadays, we see smart cities based on the use of modern tools which are capable of reducing operational costs of different services needed by cities, enhancing practices of environmental conservation and pollution reduction in addition to consolidating practices of resources' conservation, such as water and electricity.

      Standard specifications including technical requirements primarily aim at sustaining resources by raising the efficiency of performance, ensuring that industrial production and innovation are in line with the aspirations of communities and that our cities are more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

      Saudi Arabia, represented by SASO, celebrates annually on March 25th, with Arab countries, the Arab Standards Day. This year we are celebrating the theme "Standards make cities more sustainable", emphasizing the key role that standards play in conserving main resources and promoting environmentally friendly practices.

SASO is exerting continuous efforts to conform to regional and international trends. SASO often introduces initiatives and sets qualitative standards so as our Kingdom finds its way on the map of global influence in various fields, according to what our wise leadership aspires to and has established the ambitious Vision of the Kingdom by 2030 for.

      On this occasion, I would like to mention the efforts of SASO in keeping pace with international trends towards smart and environmentally friendly cities through the activities of its technical teams in the preparation of standard specifications' projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency and environmental management standards, in addition to other initiatives and programs in partnership with public and private sectors.

Finally, I would like to mention the pioneering efforts of my colleagues in AIDMO and Arab Standardization bodies, which aim at unifying visions and efforts in order to enable the Arab industry to compete in international markets and enhance the role of intra-Arab trade in supporting Arab economies.