Riyadh, 15 September 2025 – The UNDP Saudi Arabia Country Office, in partnership with the General Authority for Awqaf and the Riyada Centre, convened a Consultation and Validation Workshop on the Awqaf Excellence Index at the UN House in Riyadh.

The workshop brought together senior officials, development practitioners, and representatives of waqf institutions to deliberate on the design of a national framework for enhancing the performance and governance of endowments. The initiative reflects the Kingdom’s longstanding waqf heritage and its commitment to revitalizing this vital sector as a strategic force for social and economic development in line with Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Nahid Hussein, UNDP Resident Representative in Saudi Arabia, emphasized the historical significance of awqaf in supporting education, social welfare, and community development across the Islamic world. She highlighted that Saudi Arabia is home to more than 113,000 waqf institutions with assets exceeding SAR 342 billion, underlining the potential of the sector to serve as a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive growth. Ms. Hussein reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to supporting the non-profit sector globally and nationally, noting the organization’s longstanding role in building capacities, promoting innovation, empowering civil society, and creating enabling environments for sustainable impact.

The workshop also provided an opportunity to introduce the Awqaf Excellence Index as an innovative tool designed to assess the performance of endowments, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and guide institutions in achieving higher standards of governance, sustainability, and social impact. Discussions underscored the importance of positioning the index not as a mechanism of control, but rather as a voluntary and empowering framework to encourage continuous improvement and highlight best practices within the sector.

The event concluded with a shared commitment by UNDP, the General Authority for Awqaf, and national partners to advance collaborative efforts aimed at strengthening the waqf ecosystem and ensuring that endowments play their full role in achieving the goals of Vision 2030 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.