The UNDP Saudi Arabia Country Office was honored to welcome H.E. Ivana Živković, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director of UNDP for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC), during her visit to Riyadh and Jeddah.

At the UN House in Riyadh, Ms. Živković met with the UNDP  Saudi Arabia Country Office team for a townhall gathering focused on reflection, connection, and shared purpose. She spoke about the diversity and development momentum across the RBEC region and the importance of strengthening South-South and triangular cooperation. Her insights helped frame the opportunities for greater cross-regional dialogue — especially in areas such as digital transformation, climate resilience, and institutional reform.

The visit underscored the pivotal role of the UNDP Country Office in bridging Saudi Arabia’s development ambitions with international networks. Through its partnerships and positioning, the office contributes actively to Saudi Arabia’s increasing engagement and visibility on the global development stage.

During her mission, Ms. Živković also held high-level meetings with key counterparts. At the Gulf Cooperation Council General Secretariat she met H.E. Dr. Abdel Aziz Al Uwaisheg, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Negotiations, where discussions focused on enhancing cooperation between the GCC, Arab States, Europe, and Central Asia — with an emphasis on strategic alignment and shared development priorities. This included potential programming around policy advisory, governance reform, and resilience building.

At the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) headquarters in Riyadh, the discussion focused on the synergies between DCO’s Digital Economy Navigator (DEN) and UNDP’s Data to Policy Navigator (D2P), and how these platforms can drive data-informed transformation across regions. The KSA Country Office, with its access to cutting-edge tools and policy experiences, plays a critical role in expanding these frameworks in support of regional progress.

Additional engagements included the Saudi Fund for Development, which began with a virtual tour of SFDs support to many countries within the RBEC region and then a meeting with H.E. Mr. Sultan Almarshad, CEO of SFD, where both sides explored potential cooperation in Central Asia, especially in areas such as vocational training and capacity building. The mission continued with discussions at KSrelief around possible collaboration in Ukraine, particularly in the health sector and with both sides expressing interest in exploring concrete areas of partnership moving forward.

In Jeddah, Ms. Živković met with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) continuing the strong engagement and discussions on development priorities across several regions.

From Riyadh to Jeddah, Ms. Živković’s visit reflected the values of solidarity, partnership, and impact-driven collaboration. It reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, not only through technical cooperation, but by facilitating knowledge exchange and connecting the Kingdom’s priorities with global expertise.

As Saudi Arabia continues to expand its leadership in international development, the UNDP Country Office remains committed to serving as a strategic partner, building bridges across regions, and contributing to the Kingdom’s global development role.