The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Combating Corruption held today at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The Kingdom’s delegation was led by Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) Chairman Mazen bin Ibrahim Al-Kahmous.
In his address, Al-Kahmous expressed gratitude to the organizers and highlighted the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to combat corruption, driven by the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the continuous oversight of HRH Crown Prince. He emphasized that these efforts align with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which includes numerous initiatives aimed at curbing illegal practices in government procurement.
Al-Kahmous underscored the establishment of the “Etimad Platform,” a unified electronic portal designed to enhance transparency in government procurement, improve the efficiency of public spending, and minimize corruption throughout the public tender process. He also highlighted
the successful collaboration between Nazaha and the Ministry of Finance in developing indicators within the platform to identify and mitigate corruption risks, particularly in preventing collusion and fraud among companies bidding for government contracts.
On the international front, Al-Kahmous noted Saudi Arabia’s support for the partnership between Nazaha and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in launching the “Global Initiative on the Measurement of Corruption.” The initiative, based on the Vienna Principles for Measuring Corruption, aims to evaluate global efforts to combat corruption, with a focus on promoting integrity in government procurement.
Al-Kahmous concluded his speech by expressing hope for continued collaboration to build a future characterized by integrity and social justice.
On the sidelines of the meeting, he met with Professor Slagjana Taseva, the dean of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), to discuss progress on the Global Initiative and explore future devel
opment efforts in partnership with UNDP.
Source: Saudi Press Agency