MADINAH — The Urban Observatory at Al Madinah Region Development Authority has issued the Madinah SDGs Voluntary Local Review (VLR), the first VLR in Saudi Arabia, which covers nine sustainable development goals.

Madinah’s VLR is in line with Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” that was approved at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015. Saudi Arabia’s commitment also conforms with the Islamic values, the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and its executive programs.

Madinah’s VLR is a continuation of the national efforts stipulated in the Voluntary National Review (VNR) first edition, in 2018, titled “Towards the Sustainable Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning.

The VLR aims to evaluate Madinah’s current state of sustainable development and assess it in relation to the national and international trends, with a view to enriching the localization of the SDGs in collaboration with government agencies, the private sector, the non-profit sector, and Madinah’s civil society.

This VLR covers nine goals of the SDGs, from Goal 1 to Goal 8, and Goal 11. The report assesses Madinah’s sustainable development state in many fields, such as health, education, infrastructure, environment, housing, and transport.

Madinah Region Development Authority looks forward to collaborating with its partners to accelerate achieving the SDG targets at local level through creating jobs, bringing about prosperity and development without burdening land and resources, and reducing pollution, complementing national efforts and initiatives to achieve sustainable and inclusive development. — SPA