The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia submitted its first National Voluntary Report at the High-Level Political Forum that took place between 9 and 18 July 2018 at the UN Headquarters in New York. More than 1,000 governments, delegations, businesses and civil society leaders convened to discuss progress done by governments towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2018 theme was "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies".

Saudi Arabia’s National Voluntary Review, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was based on a comprehensive review of the status of the SDGs, their alignment with the Saudi Vision 2030, and the actions taken by national entities including the government, the private sector, and non-government organizations to fulfill the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Reflecting the title of the report “Towards Saudi Arabia’s Sustainable Tomorrow”, the report highlighted the concrete and tangible plans as well as actions taken with regards to the 17 SDGs. In this connection, the report stressed the kingdom’s commitment and determination to improve people’s livelihoods, health services, education, energy infrastructure, water and food security.

Moving from the domestic efforts, the report took stock of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the development agenda and the generous contributions they have provided to the development efforts of low-income countries through humanitarian and development assistance.

“Acceleration of the SDGs achievement calls for constructive cooperation, sharing of experiences and best practices among countries and promoting peace, security and stability as a prerequisite for realization of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions.”, said H.E. Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammad M. Al Tuwaijri. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirms that it shall spare no effort to pursue cooperation with all key actors in all endeavors that contribute to international realization of these goals. In the meantime, Saudi Arabia will continue to play its leading role in all spheres at the regional and international levels.”, he added.

The report will now act as a baseline for tracking progress towards the implementation of the SDGs. Nevertheless, it identifies areas which will constitute a priority for the kingdom in the coming period.