Saudi Arabia Highlights Anti-Corruption Efforts At G20 Ministerial Meeting In Brazil

Saudi Arabia took part in the third anti-corruption ministerial meeting of the G20, which occurred on Thursday in Natal, Brazil. The Kingdom's delegation was led by Mazin bin Ibrahim Al-Kahmous, President of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha). Al-Kahmous expressed gratitude to Brazil for hosting this significant event and praised the achievements of G20 countries under Brazil's leadership.

During his speech, Al-Kahmous congratulated Brazil for its representative's uncontested selection as deputy chairman of the GlobE Network Steering Committee during a meeting in Beijing last September. He highlighted the support from Saudi leadership in fighting corruption since Vision 2030's launch. This includes developing a national anti-corruption strategy and fostering international partnerships to combat cross-border corruption.

Al-Kahmous emphasized the G20's crucial role in creating a fair world and ensuring sustainability. He noted the establishment of the GlobE Network, which now includes 222 authorities from 123 countries, including 15 G20 members. The network enhances international cooperation, asset recovery, information exchange, and investigations among anti-corruption agencies.

The Nazaha president expressed hope that all G20 nations would contribute significantly to advancing the network's work based on previous agreements within the G20 framework and decisions by the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (CoSP).

Al-Kahmous discussed a global initiative aimed at measuring corruption to help countries, investors, donors, and other stakeholders assess anti-corruption efforts. He hoped that reliable indicators would emerge by the end of this initiative's second phase, considering each country's political and legal systems.

He urged G20 countries to back the United Nations Development Program’s efforts in measuring corruption through information sharing and best practices to achieve sustainable development goals.

Key Outcomes from the Meeting

The G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting included discussions on enforcing anti-corruption laws, accountability, transparency, asset recovery, and combating all forms of corruption per international agreements. The Ministerial Declaration endorsed a new action plan for 2025-2027 focused on combating money laundering and ensuring transparency of beneficial ownership.

This declaration also supported several documents from the G20 anti-corruption working group under Brazil’s presidency. These include high-level principles encouraging private-sector integrity measures to prevent corruption. Additionally, it endorsed an accountability report on combating corruption for 2024 among G20 countries.

Historical Context

The first G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting was initiated by Saudi Arabia during its presidency in 2020. This aimed to boost political commitment to fighting corruption and enhance cooperation among member nations.

The recent meeting further solidified these commitments with new plans and principles designed to strengthen global efforts against corruption while promoting transparency and accountability across sectors.

With inputs from SPA