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UNGC Seeks to Attract 50 Saudi Companies for Sustainability Development Program

The Federation of Saudi Chambers signed on Thursday an agreement to host the UNGC Network Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Federation of Saudi Chambers signed on Thursday an agreement to host the UNGC Network Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UNGC Seeks to Attract 50 Saudi Companies for Sustainability Development Program

The Federation of Saudi Chambers signed on Thursday an agreement to host the UNGC Network Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Federation of Saudi Chambers signed on Thursday an agreement to host the UNGC Network Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Federation of Saudi Chambers signed on Thursday an agreement to host the UN Global Compact Network Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, with direct support from the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office.

The agreement aims to enhance the role of the private sector and the continuity of corporate sustainable partnerships aligned with the 2030 agenda and Saudi Vision 2030.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Natalie Fustier, the UN resident coordinator in Saudi Arabia, said that the Kingdom was committed to achieving progress in the UN 2030 Agenda and all 17 sustainable development goals.

She stressed the need to further encourage the participation of the private sector, to achieve sustainable development goals promptly.

Fustier added that she was looking forward to making the local network of the Global Compact in Saudi Arabia a model for the region and beyond.

For her part, Maryam Telmesani, chair of the Global Compact Network Saudi Arabia, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Network had already attracted 36 Saudi companies and was seeking to increase the number to 50 companies by the end of 2022.

The UNGC is a non-binding pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies.

Telmesani added that the establishment of the Global Compact Network in the Kingdom was part of the UN efforts to expand the scope of partnership with the private sector, to promote sustainable long-term partnerships aligned with the 2030 Agenda and Vision 2030.

She noted that since 2015, a significant number of companies were able to demonstrate the transformative impact of their technologies, products, services, and business models in a measurable manner.

Acting Secretary-General of the Federation of Saudi Chambers Hussein Al-Abdulqader said that the Federation was keen to host the local network of the UNGC, to enhance and enable the participation of the private sector in implementing the UN Sustainable Development agenda.

He added that the UNGC - the largest voluntary initiative aimed at promoting corporate social responsibility - included more than 12,000 members of businesses and organizations from 170 countries around the world.

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Trump Trade War to Sap Canadian, Mexican and US Growth, OECD Says 

Lumber is piled at a housing construction site, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Middleton, Mass. (AP)
Lumber is piled at a housing construction site, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Middleton, Mass. (AP)
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Trump Trade War to Sap Canadian, Mexican and US Growth, OECD Says 

Lumber is piled at a housing construction site, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Middleton, Mass. (AP)
Lumber is piled at a housing construction site, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Middleton, Mass. (AP)

President Donald Trump's tariff hikes will drag down growth in Canada, Mexico and the United States while driving up inflation, the OECD forecast on Monday, cutting its global economic outlook and warning that a broader trade war would sap growth further.

In the case of a generalized trade shock, not only will US households pay a high direct price, but the likely economic slowdown will cost the United States more than the extra income the tariffs are supposed to generate, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated in its interim outlook.

Global growth is on course to slow slightly from 3.2% in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025 and 3.0% in 2026, the Paris-based policy forum said, cutting its projections from 3.3% for both this year and next in its previous economic outlook, issued in December.

But the global picture masked divergences among major economies with resilience in some big emerging markets like China helping to make up for a marked slowdown in North America.

The proliferation of tariff hikes would weigh on global business investment and boost inflation, leaving central banks little choice but to keep interest rates higher for longer than previously expected, the OECD said.

The organization updated its forecasts assuming tariffs between the United States and its neighbors are raised an extra 25 percentage points on almost all goods imports from April.

As a result, US economic growth was seen slowing this year to 2.2% before losing more steam next year to only 1.6%, the OECD said, cutting its forecasts from 2.4% and 2.1% previously.

But the Mexican economy would be hit hardest by the tariff hikes, contracting 1.3% this year and a further 0.6% next year instead of growing 1.2% and 1.6% as previously expected.

Canada's growth rate would slow to 0.7% this year and next, well below the 2% previously forecast for both years.

TRADE WAR FALLOUT

With less direct exposure to the trade war for now, the euro area economy was seen gaining momentum this year with 1.0% growth and reaching 1.2% next year, although that was down from previous forecasts for 1.3% and 1.5% respectively.

Stronger government support for Chinese growth would help offset the impact of higher tariffs in the world's second-biggest economy, the OECD said, forecasting 4.8% growth in 2025 - up from 4.7% - before slowing to 4.4% in 2026 - unchanged from the previous estimate.

However, the OECD said the global outlook would be much worse if Washington escalates the trade war by raising tariffs on all non-commodity imports and its trade partners do the same.

It estimated an increase in bilateral tariffs permanently by 10 percentage points would shave around 0.3 percentage points off global growth by the second and third years of the shock, while global inflation would be on average 0.4 percentage points higher over the first three years.

In such a scenario, the US economy would suffer a significant hit, with growth 0.7 percentage points lower than what it otherwise would have been by the third year. The direct cost to US households could be as much as $1,600 each.

The financial cost from the economic drag from tariffs would also offset any extra income they generate for the public coffers, which means they would be insufficient to pay for lowering other taxes as the US administration has planned.