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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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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged.
The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product — the nation's total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year, The Associated Press reported.
Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment.
The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank’s favored inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.5% annual rate last quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter of the year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation grew at a 2.8% pace, down from 3.7% from January through March.
The US economy, the world's biggest, displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the 11 interest rate hikes the Fed carried out in 2022 and 2023 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Since peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022, annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index has tumbled to 2.5%.
Despite the surge in borrowing rates, the economy kept growing and employers kept hiring. Still, the job market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. From June through August, America's employers added an average of just 116,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since mid-2020, when the COVID pandemic had paralyzed the economy. The unemployment rate has ticked up from a half-century low 3.4% last year to 4.2%, still relatively low.
Last week, responding to the steady drop in inflation and growing evidence of a more sluggish job market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflected its new focus on shoring up the job market now that inflation has largely been tamed.
Some other barometers of the economy still look healthy. Americans last month increased their spending at retailers, for example, suggesting that consumers are still able and willing to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and high borrowing rates. The nation’s industrial production rebounded. The pace of single-family-home construction rose sharply from the pace a year earlier.
And this month, consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month, according to preliminary figures from the University of Michigan. The brighter outlook was driven by “more favorable prices as perceived by consumers” for cars, appliances, furniture and other long-lasting goods.
A category within GDP that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 2.7% annual rate, though that was down from 2.9% in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Though the Fed now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department also issued revisions to previous GDP estimates. From 2018 through 2023, growth was mostly higher — an average annual rate of 2.3%, up from a previously reported 2.1% — largely because of upward revisions to consumer spending. The revisions showed that GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from the 2.5% previously reported.
Thursday’s report was the government’s third and final estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter. It will release its initial estimate of July-September GDP growth on Oct. 30.