RIYADH: Madinah governor and chairman of the Madinah Region Development Authority (MDA), Prince Salman bin Sultan, attended the ceremony granting Madinah the Gold Level of the Sustainable Development Goals Cities program on Saturday.
The certificate is accredited by the UN’s Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat).
The ceremony was also attended by Prince Saud bin Khaled Al-Faisal — the deputy governor of Madinah — and Fahad Al-Buliheshi, mayor of the Madinah region and CEO of the MDA.
Madinah is the first Arab city to achieve the program’s gold level, and only the third city worldwide to complete the second of its three phases of requirements. It obtained the program’s Silver Certificate a year ago
The achievement, according to a press release, “reflects Madinah’s comprehensive baseline data assessment of the city’s progress on sustainable urban development, and its unparalleled commitment towards inclusive strategic vision and plan with transformative actions to deliver the SDGs by 2030, leaving no one or place behind.”
The press release continued: “This direction is in line with Madinah’s human-centered smart city strategy that focuses on building a vibrant
community with the objective of improving people’s quality of life in Madinah and enriching its visitors’ experiences in a sustainable manner.
“The collaborative effort exerted by the various government, private sector, and non-for-profit stakeholders is a translation of the level of superior care given by the government of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Madinah region within the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030.”
