During his first official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), engaged in a series of high-level meetings and dialogues aimed at strengthening partnerships for inclusive finance, digital innovation, and sustainable development.

“This is my first visit to Saudi Arabia in my role as Executive Secretary of UNCDF. I’m here to engage with government counterparts, the UN system, and explore how UNCDF can contribute to the Kingdom’s ambitious development agenda,” he said during his intervention at the Global Labour Market Conference, held in Riyadh on January 27.

Throughout his mission, Mr. Kurukulasuriya underscored the alignment between UNCDF’s mandate and the priorities of Saudi Vision 2030, particularly in areas such as climate resilience, financial inclusion, and digital transformation. His visit reflects UNCDF’s growing role in the region as a catalytic partner for sustainable finance and innovation.

In Riyadh, he met with Dr. Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and H.E. Ibrahim AlTurki, Secretary General of the Middle East Green Initiative, to explore how UNCDF’s financial instruments could support the Kingdom’s green transition.

Engagements with Eng. Faisal AlKahtani, Deputy CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, focused on innovative financing mechanisms to advance national and regional development. A meeting with Eng. Hassan Al Attas from the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen opened discussions around cross-border collaboration and support to ongoing efforts in Yemen.

Coordination within the UN system was also a central focus. Mr. Kurukulasuriya met with Mohamed Zarkani, UN Resident Coordinator in Saudi Arabia, and Margaret Jones, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Saudi Arabia, to discuss joint efforts in advancing inclusive finance and sustainability. He also held a bilateral meeting with Nahid Hussein, UNDP Resident Representative, to explore synergies between UNCDF and UNDP programming in the Kingdom.

Looking ahead, Mr. Kurukulasuriya reaffirmed UNCDF’s commitment to working alongside Saudi institutions and the UN family to deliver scalable solutions that empower communities and enable transformative impact in the Kingdom and beyond.