NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday told the UN that investment in human capital and the localization of knowledge are the foundation of sustainable industrialization.
This came as the Kingdom presented its progress under Vision 2030 during a session on Sustainable Development Goal 9 — a global framework to build resilient infrastructure and foster innovation — at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
The SDGs are a set of 17 interconnected global objectives adopted by the UN in 2015 to create a fairer, more peaceful, and sustainable world by 2030. They provide a shared blueprint to end poverty and protect the planet by balancing social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Eng. Saad bin Abdul Ghani Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for planning and development at the Ministry of Education, addressed the HLPF at the UN’s headquarters.
Al-Ghamdi said “that pioneering and the sustainability of industrialization are based on investment in human capital and localizing knowledge as the basic engine for increasing productivity and competitiveness in order to face increasing international challenges.”
He added that the Kingdom had pursued pioneering solutions through Vision 2030 and a series of qualitative initiatives, pointing to Saudi universities now ranked among the world’s best in artificial intelligence, alongside strong performance in international competitions.
He said this investment in human capital had translated into concrete advances, including a global ranking of 10th in electronic governance, and had strengthened Saudi competitiveness in areas where the Kingdom previously lagged.
“This is our effort to invest in human capital, and this has led us to achieve many advances, particularly in electronic governance, in which we are ranked 10th worldwide,” he said.
Al-Ghamdi added that the Saudi government had adopted a range of voluntary reports, including on sustainability in education, to ensure transparency and compliance as the Kingdom prepares its institutions for the demands of the 21st century.
The remarks were delivered during the HLPF’s main-program session on “SDG 9 and interlinkages with other SDGs — Industry, innovation and infrastructure.”
The HLPF, convened this year from July 7 to 15 under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, is the UN’s central platform for reviewing progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs.
Established in 2012 following the Rio+20 conference, the forum meets annually and this year is conducting in-depth reviews of five goals.
The review encompasses the SDG 6 on water and sanitation, SDG 7 on energy, SDG 9 on industry and infrastructure, SDG 11 on sustainable cities, and SDG 17 on partnerships — alongside the presentation of 36 Voluntary National Reviews by member states, including Saudi Arabia’s.
SDG 9 is described by UN organizers as the “production engine” of the 2030 Agenda, underpinning economic growth, poverty reduction, climate action, decent work and energy transitions through its focus on resilient infrastructure, inclusive industrialization and innovation.
Progress on SDG 9 remains uneven with less than four years left until the 2030 deadline. While global research and development investment and Information and Communication Technology access continue to grow, inclusive and sustainable industrialization has stagnated in many regions, and domestic technology development has regressed in some cases.
Persistent gaps in transport, energy and digital infrastructure continue to constrain investment and participation in global value chains, particularly for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, while limited financing access for small- and medium-sized enterprises remains a major barrier to industrial upgrading.
Organizers called for integrated, systems-based approaches aligning infrastructure investment, industrial policy, innovation, finance, skills development, trade and climate strategies, along with stronger international cooperation and financing to offset declining overseas development assistance for infrastructure and industry.
