Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged G20 nations to support the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in measuring corruption by exchanging information and best practices, contributing to sustainable development goals.
Mazen Al-Kahmous, President of Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, made the appeal during the third G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting held in Natal, Brazil.
The meeting focused on cooperation in enforcing anti-corruption laws, enhancing accountability and transparency, recovering assets, and fighting all forms of corruption under international agreements. It also reviewed G20 accomplishments in these areas.
Al-Kahmous commended the Saudi leadership’s support for anti-corruption since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, which established a national strategy and advanced partnerships and international cooperation against transnational corruption.
He highlighted the G20’s pivotal role in creating a fairer world and a sustainable future, noting initiatives like the GlobE Network, which aims to strengthen international cooperation, recover assets, and enable information exchange among relevant agencies.
Al-Kahmous expressed hope that G20 nations would play a central role in advancing the network, aligned with prior G20 agreements and the resolutions from the UN Convention against Corruption.
He stressed that the Global Program on Corruption Measurement seeks to address challenges and support countries, investors, donors, and other stakeholders in assessing anti-corruption efforts. He expressed hope that, by the end of its second phase, the program will provide reliable, transparent indicators that respect the political and legal diversity of each country.
The meeting approved the G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan for 2025-2027, which emphasizes combating money laundering, ensuring transparency in beneficial ownership, and aligning with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations.
The G20 meeting, under Brazil’s presidency, also endorsed documents from the Anti-Corruption Working Group, including high-level principles for private sector incentives to adopt comprehensive integrity measures, along with the “2024 Accountability Report.”
Saudi Arabia initiated the first ministerial anti-corruption meeting during its G20 presidency in 2020 to strengthen political commitment to anti-corruption and enhance cooperation among member states.
