Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to collaborate on accelerating sustainable development

New York, July17 (BNA): The Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia explored ways to enhance their collaborations on the acceleration of the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supporting the alignment of government programmes and initiatives with the 2030 Agenda.

The discussion took place at the joint meeting between HE Amna bint Ahmed Al Romaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, HE Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development, HEDr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, and HE Faisal bin Fadel Al Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This came on the sidelines of their participation at the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2023, to present their countries’ Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the progress made towards achieving the SDGs and accelerating the realisation of the 2030 Agenda. 

The Ministers discussed the innovative practices adopted by the two countries for achieving sustainable development and deepening their expertise and knowledge on enshrining the 2030 Agenda into the governmental strategies and programmes. 

Al Romaihi stressed that the Kingdom of Bahrain has a clear vision for the future of sustainable development in the country and is turning this vision in to reality within the housing sector, as it continues to develop and invest in sustainable urban housing towns and communities, in line with SDG 11.

Meanwhile, Alkhulaif emphasised the government’s commitment to strengthen regional and international partnerships to support addressing local and global sustainable development challenges.

Through constructive partnerships, knowledge sharing and exchanging expertise, an optimal pathway for achieving sustainability goals can be realised, she said.

For his part, Al Ibrahim lauded efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Bahrain for the full attainment of the SDGs and shared the best practices and innovative work models developed by the Saudi Government in this endeavour.  He also encouraged collaboration between the two countries on the exchange of knowledge and expertise in sustainable development.