The agreement aims to enhance the partnership between Saudi Arabia and the UN to accelerate their joint efforts to deliver progress on sustainable development in Saudi Arabia and meet the goals outlined in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the UN 2030 Agenda, as well as the socioeconomic ambitions of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Based on the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 72/279 to enhance the UN’s operational development activities, the UNSDCF acts as the UN’s country planning support tool to help countries contribute to the UN’s 2030 Agenda and responds to the global reforms required by the UN Development System.

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has defined the global reform goals as creating, “a 21st century United Nations, focused more on people and less on process, more on delivery and less on bureaucracy.”

“The true test of reform will be measured in tangible results in the lives of the people we serve — and the trust of those who support our work,” he has said.

The UNSDCF 2022-2026 is designed to enable the UN development system to respond to emerging challenges. Under the agreement, the framework supports the UN Country Team based in Saudi Arabia to pursue the country’s Sustainable Development Roadmap in a collaborative and innovative way.

Through the KSA-UN partnership, the government of Saudi Arabia aims to:

• Accelerate Saudi Arabia’s path to achieving the UN 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

• Provide clear and strategic direction and prioritization of the collective work of participating agencies, funds, and programs (AFPs) in supporting national priorities and needs; and

• Create an accountability framework for the inclusive and participatory monitoring of progress towards key milestones and the evaluation of results.

“Our partnership with the government of Saudi Arabia has evolved over the years and continues today, as we are now taking this to a new stage with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, or UNSDCF, which will guide the overall work of the UN in the Kingdom from 2022 to 2026,” Fustier emphasized during the ceremony.

She also highlighted, “The UNSDCF is primarily shaped by three elements: the sustainable development priorities of the Kingdom, articulated in Vision 2030, and its efforts to achieve the UN’s 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the UN Secretary General’s reform of the UN Development System.”

Commenting on the agreement, Al Ibrahim said: “At times of great global challenges, our responses must be coordinated, collaborative and truly global in scale. Signing the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework today takes us another step closer to delivering exactly this.”

He added: “Through the framework, we are enhancing our partnership with the United Nations at a time when international partnerships have never been more critical. By working closely with our partners, Saudi Arabia can capture the economic opportunities that stem from the urgent need to deliver inclusive human, social and economic development — at both the local and international levels.”

Al Ibrahim added: “Aligning with our international partners is essential if we are to stay ahead of the climate curve and meet the goals outlined by the 2030 Agenda, as well as those of Vision 2030.”

“Through our collaboration, we can further enhance Saudi’s evolving economy to diversify our industrial mix, forge critical future knowledge in emerging sectors and create new jobs for future generations who can unleash the full potential of our globally competitive economy.”

The UNSDCF is composed of four Strategic Priority Areas that draw from the UN’s 2030 Agenda, its SDGs, and the ‘5Ps’: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.

The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) will be reviewed every year by the United Nations Country Team and the Joint United Nations — government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Cooperation Framework (CF) Committee.

Thereby allowing the government of Saudi Arabia and the UN to continuously reassess and analyze the designated areas of work and strengthen and adapt as needed, to ultimately accelerate progress towards the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Saudi Vision 2030.