On the sidelines of the establishment meeting of the International Date Council held in Al-Ahsa Governorate - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the FAO regional office of the Near East and North Africa launched the FAO regional program officially to eradicate the red palm weevil in NENA region. The RPW is a serious transboundary pest of date palm that causes serious damage and impacts the production, farmer livelihoods, and the environment. In 2017, FAO and key partners and stakeholders developed a Framework Strategy for eradicating the RPW and the regional program for RPW eradication from the NENA region. In 2018 following scientific meetings in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Bari, Italy, the program activated five technical working groups with a focus on improving policies and phytosanitary regulations to control the spread of RPW, supporting research and innovative approaches for monitoring, and sustainable management methods, socio-economic impact assessments, capacity development and enhanced farmers’ and other stakeholder’s involvement and facilitating the transfer of knowledge and technology. Fifteen work packages have been prioritized, and a Trust Fund was established, with generous support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Sultanate of Oman to finance the implementation of the regional program.