24 April 2007, Riyadh,
In line with its commitment to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and monitoring national performance in this respect, Saudi Arabia launched its second National Millennium Development Goals Report for year 2006.
The report is the outcome of the joint efforts of the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MOEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in coordination with other related governmental bodies. The launch ceremony was held at MOEP where the Minister, H.E. Khaled Al-Gosaibi, gave the opening speech, launched the report and revealed its key findings while highlighting Saudi Arabia’s notable success in achieving the UN Development Goals.
H.E. Al-Gosaibi confirmed the great successful efforts carried by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards achieving the MDGs which were put forth by the UN in year 2000.
Those goals comprised Eradicating Extreme Poverty & Hunger; Achieving Universal Primary Education; Ensuring Gender Equality & Empowerment of Women; Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria & Other Diseases; Ensuring Environmental Sustainability; and Developing a Global Partnership for Development. Al-Gosaibi declared that the progress achieved by the Kingdom with regards to the MDGs happened in a records time and even prior to the deadline set by the UN which is year 2015. He clarified in his speech that the 8th National Development Plan is the cornerstone for all efforts and initiatives carried in this respect. Furthermore, he confirmed that the Kingdom has surpassed many targets identified under the MDGs, indicating that the first 7 MDGs contained 11 targets, 9 of which have been already reached in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Gosaibi added that this report documents the existing efforts towards development and the achievement of the MDGs as much as it encourages further national efforts to establish or upgrade the monitoring and reporting mechanisms. He announced: “By 2009, we intend to eradicate poverty from the country.” On the role of women, Al-Gosaibi said that the 8th National Development Plan called for removing obstacles which stand in the way of women participating in the country’s social and economic progress. He gave several examples of development in the Kingdom from 1970 to 2005:
The number of students, he said, increased 10 times, noting that they had risen from “500,000 (boys and girls) to 5 million. He mentioned that 7,086 intermediate schools were built in the Kingdom between 1970 and 2005, an average of a school being built every two days.

Click here to view the pictures taken in this event

Contact Persons:
Ms. Thuraya Ismail, Programme Coordinator, thuraya.ismail@undp.org
Mr. Yassin Yassin, Programme Associate, yassin.yassin@undp.org
Tel: +9661-4885301
Fax: +9661-4885309

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