Private sector significant beneficiary of sustainable development: Dr Al Ghazzawi

CEO of Ebdaa Bank - Bahrain Dr Khaled Al Ghazzawi stressed that private sector is the first beneficiary for adopting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for it will be returning the favour to the community through creating qualified cadres capable of producing, increasing returns and raising performance levels. During a regional workshop in Cairo organised by the Arab Network of NGOs in partnership with the Arab Gulf Development Programme “AGFUND”, Dr Ghazzawi added that all government must adopt the sustainable economic and social development.

“Towards a value system supportive of sustainable development” workshop was attended by about 50 participants from the Arab region and the world. Dr Al Ghazzawi reviewed the achievements of Bahrain in implementing SDGs, where The National Information Committee monitors the objectives of SDGs and its indicators and links them to the government’s work programmes. Dr Al Ghazzawi praised Bahrain’s keenness on sustainable development as a basis for the government to develop its policies.

In this context, he referred to His Majesty King Hamad youth empowerment award to achieve the SDGs, Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment, and HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Award for Sustainable Development”. Dr Al-Ghazzawi explained that the SDGs are implemented through the government’s work programmes in partnership with the private sector and civil society.

The current programme includes six strategic axes that intersect with key areas of SDGs. The comparison showed that 78 per cent of the SDGs is included in the current programme. Dr Al-Ghazzawi revealed that the workshop is the first step to the framework of the research project “Arab Code for Sustainable Development” adopted by AGFUND.

The workshop was attended by representatives of a number of NGOs and civil society organizations from the Arab world, including Dr Ziad Bahaa El-Din, former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Osman Mohamed Osman, former Egyptian Minister of Planning, and Dr Ibrahim Awad, head of the refugee program at the American University in Cairo.