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UN Coordinator: Partnership with Saudi Arabia in Sustainable Development Goals Focuses on 4 Strategic Areas

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Saudi Arabia addressing the dialogue sessions in Riyadh on Monday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Saudi Arabia addressing the dialogue sessions in Riyadh on Monday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UN Coordinator: Partnership with Saudi Arabia in Sustainable Development Goals Focuses on 4 Strategic Areas

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Saudi Arabia addressing the dialogue sessions in Riyadh on Monday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Saudi Arabia addressing the dialogue sessions in Riyadh on Monday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Kingdom, Nathalie Fustier, said that partnership with Saudi Arabia was moving to a new stage, pointing to the progress achieved by the Kingdom in sustainable development.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Fustier said that the UN partnership with the Saudi government has evolved over the years and continues today amid a new stage in the field of sustainable development, which will direct the general work of the international organization in the Kingdom from 2022 to 2026 to cooperate primarily through three elements of sustainable development.

Fustier participated in dialogue sessions between the UN and Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh on Monday, on ways to achieve Goal 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals, namely revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development.

The UN official pointed to Saudi Arabia’s sustainable development priorities stipulated in Vision 2030, its efforts achieve the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and reform the UN development system through four strategic areas, including people, planet, prosperity and peace.

In this regard, she stressed the need to combine the efforts of all sectors and segments of society in order to attain the required change and achieve the goals of sustainable development.

Fustier said that the UN partnerships with the Kingdom have expanded in recent years in all sectors, including the strategic partnership with government agencies, the private and educational sectors, in addition to civil society institutions.

She noted that through Vision 2030, the Kingdom was seeking to promote the renaissance of the Saudi economy to become one of the leading economies in the world.

The UN resident coordinator told Asharq Al-Awsat that the support her office received from the Saudi government and the relevant authorities was a great contribution to strengthening UN efforts towards achieving the sustainable development goals.

She added that the Kingdom has recently established the Steering Committee for Sustainable Development, which consists of 20 national bodies with the aim of coordinating governmental efforts and supervising performance to achieve the sustainable development goals.

As for the role of the private sector, Fustier pointed to the Saudi call on companies across the country to align their operations and strategies with ten comprehensive principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption by joining the local network of the United Nations Global Compact, which has reached 46 members so far, with the support of the Ministry of Economy and Planning and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.