17/01/2024 - The OECD and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the co-operation in several policy areas, to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and explore the Kingdom’s potential alignment with relevant OECD standards and best practices.


The MoU will frame the future co-operation and pave the way for collaboration in a range of substantive areas, to support the development and coordination of public policy. It was signed during the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann and Minister of Economy and Planning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Faisal Alibrahim.


The OECD and Saudi Arabia have been collaborating for many years across different policy fields in the context of the G20, under the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development since 2005, and through the implementation of several projects and initiatives in areas such as taxation, anti-corruption, public governance, education and development co-operation.


“The OECD welcomes this agreement to deepen our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, which builds on our collaboration to date on issues ranging from taxation to education, energy, development cooperation and public governance, as well as through OECD-G20 work on taxation and corporate governance,” OECD Secretary-General Cormann said during the signing ceremony. “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 recognises that long term growth will depend on a policy framework to support economic diversification. The MoU aims to support this reform agenda, and frames cooperation across 19 policy areas, including energy security and the low-carbon transition, which will be a major transformation with global impact.”


Saudi Arabia already participates in nine OECD committees and adheres to seven OECD legal instruments. Saudi Arabia’s wishes to strengthen co-operation with the Organisation through deeper technical engagement with the OECD in various policy areas such as public governance and regulatory policy, skills and education, corporate governance and finance, investment policy, anti-corruption and trade facilitation. The Kingdom has established an inter-Ministerial Committee which includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy and Planning, to ensure a coherent approach to co-operation with the OECD.



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Saudi Arabia and the OECD have been cooperating for many years, including in the G20, on issues ranging from international tax reform through the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS, corporate governance principles, financial consumer protection and financial inclusion. At the regional level, Saudi Arabia has been a member of the OECD’s MENA Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development since its establishment in 2005. Saudi Arabia takes an active role in the current programme of work (2021-2025), including on digital transformation and promotion of trade and investment integration as well as on fostering inclusion and competitiveness across the MENA region. Saudi Arabia engages with the OECD through several bilateral projects covering areas of a major importance including taxation, anti-corruption, public governance, and education. Saudi Arabia has also been a participant in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and its subsidiary bodies since 2018.


Read more about OECD work with Saudi Arabia.


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