Nasser was greeted with two enthusiastic songs of welcome from children and later he toured the exhibition that is being held on the sidelines of the forum. The exhibition will highlight the importance of protecting environment and achieving sustainable development. More than 60 companies and agencies are taking part in the show.

The speech was given at the opening Sunday of the Gulf Environment and Sustainable Development Forum at the Jeddah Hilton.

The king emphasized the need for joint efforts to ensure a better future for coming generations.

Thirty-five keynote speakers including Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi will address the conference, which runs through Tuesday. The forum is being attended by some 1,500 delegates.

Al-Naimi will speak about the Kingdom's efforts to make use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as well as to develop alternative energy resources such as solar energy.

Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, will stress the importance of protecting the health of Saudis and expatriates. He will emphasize the need to bring down the rate of pollution caused by factories to the international standards.

In a statement on the occasion, Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah called for promoting a culture of environmental protection among students.

Prince Turki spent time with many of the exhibitors and took a very active interest in the various products and services on display.

At the UK Trade & Investment pavilion, he asked about the work of Bio-Systems Europe, maker of bio waste treatment products. Bio-Systems Europe Technical Sales Manager Phil Lines described the processes that treat biological waste, waste water, used oil and solid waste.

"Good, we have an awful lot of that here," said Prince Turki with a smile. 

Mapmaking firm emapsite Middle East, LLC, announced it recently completed mapping the Kingdom's marine environmental sites.

Justin Saunders, emapsite Middle East director, informed Prince Turki that a complete report would be presented within a month. The prince expressed his gratitude.