Special Event For the UN Day: "Recovering from the COVID-19 Crisis and Advancing Towards Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia: Building on the UN-G20 Partnership"

• Click here for the programme structure and here to learn more about the virtual conference speakers.

• Click here to read the Resident Coordinator's opinion piece on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

Marking its 75th anniversary, the United Nations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated the annual UN Day on October 24th, 2020 while the Kingdom hosts the G20 this year. In January, the UN Secretary-General recognized that the international community is “off-track” with achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and called on all stakeholders to mobilize for a “Decade of Action” to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since March, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has caused further development setbacks and might erase years and decades of development progress. In Saudi Arabia, the impact of COVID-19 also caused hardship and spearheaded the government to take proactive measures to cope with the challenges.

While leading the G20, and in the run-up to the Riyadh Summit, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia already convened an Extraordinary G20 Summit in March, where G20 Leaders expressed their grave concern with the suffering faced by people around the world, and “committed to do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic.” The G20 Saudi Presidency is leading efforts to contribute to the global health emergency response, the global economic recovery and the global sustainable development agenda to keep advancing towards an inclusive and sustainable future for all. To maximize impact, these efforts need to be realized in close partnership with the UN system that is spearheading the humanitarian operations and the health international response, and providing socio-economic support to countries that bear the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis. The magnitude of the COVID-19 global crisis requires cooperation, coordinated and united efforts globally and locally.

This year, the UN Day Event brought together various stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia, and the international community for an open dialogue on how to recover from the crisis and build back better, with the aim of exchanging knowledge and experience to keep advancing sustainable development in the Kingdom in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through this conference, participants will reflect on how to leverage the 2020 Saudi G20 Presidency and strengthen the partnership with the UN community to support national efforts for sustainable development and inclusive recovery. They will also explore the national pandemic response efforts, and encourage best practices and knowledge sharing to reduce the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

UN75: The Future We Want, The UN We Need