Empirical research on sustainable developmental goals and priorities for water sustainability in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Saudi Arabia is lagging behind developed countries in devising specific real projects, roadmaps, and policies for the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data adoption despite having a vision for providing the best-quality health care services to its citizens. As a result, Saudi Arabia is going to host an event for the third time, in 2020, promoting the widescale adoption of the IoT. While a nationwide study has identified the risk that many participants were previously undiagnosed for hypertension and other chronic diseases in Saudi Arabia, the application of the IoT and big data technologies could be very useful in minimizing such risks by predicting chronic disease earlier, and on a large scale. Materials and Methods: A framework that consists of four modules, (1) data collection, (2) data storage, (3) Hadoop/Spark cluster, and (4) Google Cloud, was developed in which decision tree and support vector machine (SVM) techniques were used for predicting hypertension. There were 140 participants in total and 20% of participants were used for training the model. Results: The results show that age and diabetes play a very significant part in diagnosing hypertension in older people. Also, it was found that the possibility of hypertension because of smoking is less than that of diabetes, and older people should have a lower intake of salty food. Moreover, it was found that SVM techniques yielded better results than C4.5 in our study. Conclusions: Although it was found that the algorithms examined in this study can be used for disease prediction, the ability to classify and predict disease is not yet sufficiently satisfactory. To achieve this, more training data and a longer duration are required. Finally, by supporting such study for developing custom-made smart wristbands, custom-made smart clothing, and custom-made smart homes that can predict and detect a wide range of chronic diseases, the Saudi government can achieve its health-related goals of Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia is an arid country that lacks permanent water-bodies. Saudi Arabia relies on its oil resources to operate its desalination plants to supply potable water. Paradoxically, it has the third highest per capita fresh-water consumption in the world, despite being one of the world’s driest countries. Extensive agricultural programs almost depleted the nonrenewable groundwater and deteriorated water quality. The rates of water being used by the urban population and the agricultural sector for producing crops appear to be wasteful (MEWA 2018). Efforts have been made to develop an extensive but efficient water transmission system. The water sector’s infrastructure is outdated and, in some areas, deteriorating. It is estimated that an average of 20% of distributed water remains unaccounted. The Saudi Government has streamlined the water sector’s regulatory regime through implementation of a strategic water policy. Through its water policy, it is looking at the most efficient ways to produce and regulate water. No country can be expected to try every possible solution, but in Saudi Arabia, no single solution would be adequate to address this complex issue. However, the most important step would be to bring behavior change in the society to use water economically and wisely by adopting water conservation practices.

This study examines the impact of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) scores and corporate dividends on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Saudi Arabia. Drawing on information asymmetry and institutional theories, the paper argues that while SDGs promote transparency, they may also increase compliance costs that deter FDI in emerging markets. Using panel data covering 1975–2016 (44 observations), the analysis employs robust econometric techniques, including GMM, FGLS, PCSE, OLS, and ARDL models. The results indicate that SDG scores negatively affect FDI inflows, as meeting SDG requirements imposes additional costs and obligations on international investors. However, corporate dividend payouts show no significant influence on FDI. These findings highlight the dual role of SDGs as both a transparency mechanism and a regulatory burden for developing economies. Policymakers in Saudi Arabia and other emerging markets are encouraged to balance sustainability objectives with strategies that attract foreign investment. The study contributes original empirical evidence on the SDG–FDI nexus in an underexplored context, emphasizing Saudi Arabia’s continuing commitment to global development goals, particularly SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 9, and SDG 17, by 2030.

A Kingdom of Possibility

Circular economy and the resource nexus: Realignment and progress towards sustainable development in Saudi Arabia

Connecting food supply chains

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are intended to be attained as a balanced whole. However, significant interactions (the synergies and trade-offs) between the SDGs have caused the need, especially in developing economies, to identify and pursue them in line with their particular developmental needs. The research intends to empirically investigate the relationship between selected UN SDGs and GDP growth rate as a proxy for economic well-being in Saudi Arabia. We also investigate the role of education and training in achieving SDGs in accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030, which places emphasis on the knowledge economy. This research employs multiple regression analysis to explore the relationship between the SDG variables and the GDP. The results show that education and training, gender equity/women’s empowerment, greenhouse gas emissions, and decent employment are positively and significantly related to the GDP growth, whereas poverty, hunger, and health appear to be negatively related. The research indicates that education and training can promote economic, socioeconomic, and health goals without compromising environmental goals. Consequently, the Saudi government should invest more in education and training to maximize synergies and minimize tradeoffs between the SDGs. This will help to promote sustainable employment generation, build human capital, improve socioeconomic empowerment through technology, and boost economic growth.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)’s expenses in the health and social fields and the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) 1 (elimination of poverty) and 3 (good health and well-being). This paper also examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on these expenses and goals. Design/methodology/approach This paper observes the public expenses and the targets of the SDGs of KSA during 1981–2022. This paper tests the stationarity of the variables and then uses the ordinary least square model or the autoregressive distributed lag model, depending on the unit root test results. This paper also observes the change in target goals between the two years of the pandemic and the two preceding years. Findings The results show the influence of social expenditure on the progress of SDG-1, whereas the impact of health expenditure on SDG-3 is not significant. This paper also proves the impact of the pandemic on public expenses and social SDGs. Practical implications This paper attracts the attention of policymakers to the importance of assessing their SDG initiatives and the consequent outcomes. Additionally, this paper documents the initiatives for sustainable development in KSA, an important emerging country. Given the universal nature of the SDGs and the importance of KSA as an economic power with a large youth human capital potential, the findings offer insights applicable beyond KSA and provide valuable lessons for governments worldwide regarding the optimization of public spending for SDG achievement. Moreover, monitoring SDG advancement in this important country helps assess the progress of the the United Nations (UN)’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Therefore, This paper helps boost the completion of this agenda and contributes to the bottom-up approach of the UN 2030 Vision, implicating all categories of stakeholders, including the academic community. Originality/value This paper furthers the literature on SDG achievement by analyzing the relationship between public expenses and SDGs. This paper contributes to the debate concerning the best methodology suitable for SDG valuation and adds to the few studies using autoregressive tests. Moreover, this paper enriches the scarce studies dealing with emerging countries and reviews the assessment of SDGs in KSA. Additionally, this paper investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the assigned resources for SDGs and, consequently, on the related indicator scores.

This paper highlights the transition from traditional procurement systems to the newly introduced eProcurement system in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the differences and improvements and their implications for sustainable development. The new system aims to enhance transparency, clarify purchasing methodologies, and build trust with the government through effective governance of government purchases and tender management. Guided by Royal Decree, this system aligns with the eProcurement Program to transition into digital processes for proficient bids and government purchases, contributing to more efficient and sustainable procurement practices. While some public agencies have attempted to adopt the new model contract for executing construction projects, it has faced challenges due to its lack of alignment with the best practices and sustainability considerations. The authors argue that many large projects remain exempt from this system, which poses obstacles to achieving the goals of sustainable economic development. The objective of this paper is to explore the newly revised Saudi procurement contracts in comparison with traditional public works contracts, with a focus on how they address socio-economic and environmental sustainability. The research provides an overview of various aspects related to public works contracts (PWCs) in Saudi Arabia, including framework agreements, online reverse auctions, industry localization, knowledge transfer, traditional lump sum contracts, two-phase tenders, and construction project competitions, analyzing their alignment with sustainable development goals. There is limited literature on recent models introduced by the Saudi government, but there are extensive resources on general contract law principles and international public policy. This foundation helps with understanding the legal aspects of public works contracts in Saudi Arabia, their alignment with international standards, and their implications for fostering sustainable development. By examining the literature, researchers can gain insights into the legal and policy framework governing public works contracts in Saudi Arabia and their role in promoting sustainability. The importance of this research lies in its comparative analysis, offering valuable insights into the evolution of procurement practices in Saudi Arabia and their contribution to sustainable socio-economic growth.

Language-based approach in achieving Sustainable Development Goals: A qualitative meta-analysis

TB Incidence Trends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the GCC, EMR, and MENA Regions, to Achieve the WHO and UN’s SDG End TB Strategy Targets

Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic, and Religious Change

<p><em>The close relationship between water, energy and sustainable development has been on the international political radar for some time.</em><em> </em><em>The multiple targets contained in the newly developed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) often crosscut and refer to more than one sustainable goal, suggesting the need to consider the potential for synergies and analyse the nature and extent of trade-offs. SDGs subscribe Brazil to new action targets that explicitly crosscut and refer to multiple goals and resources (e.g.</em><em>,</em><em> water, energy). Current work on indicators concluded Brazil should consider recognising and forging connections between goals but lacked to consider any synergies between water and energy (SDG6, SDG7). However, a challenge is that energy and water in Brazil are dependent and serve as input of each other but follow two different management approaches: electricity is centrally governed by the federal government (taking a top-down approach), while the water sector is polycentric (following a bottom-up approach). Such institutional and administrative differences create the potential for tensions in drawing these sectors together according to the principle of integration, in order to create an integrated and holistic approach to policy making, decision making and functional operation of the sectors. This potential for disconnection also leads to serious instances of environmental injustices. This study contributes to existing studies with a normative framework (sustainable development) from which to derive further sense of the relationship between water and energy; and provides the legal tools that informs the values (legal principles), which will support the development of ethical nexus regimes, so that the negotiation of outcomes between more coherent water and energy policies also promote fairness within their regimes.</em><em></em></p>

The Saudi government has launched the Saudi Vision 2030 that aims to increase the home ownership rate to 70% by 2030 by taking the different sustainability goals into consideration. However, several challenges such as rapid urbanization and the gap between housing supply and demand are facing this goal. This study attributes the housing supply gap to KSA’s reductionist approach to the housing supply value chain (HSVC) and proposes adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. The study explores the challenges and prospects of integrating these technologies for sustainable housing delivery across the HSVC. Through action research, data were gathered via random sampling and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 24, incorporating a principal component analysis (PCA). The findings from the analysis identify key challenges such as data management infrastructure, construction industry regulations, uncertain housing delivery policies, and resistance to change. Despite these challenges, there is a strong potential for adopting Industry 4.0 technologies to achieve sustainable housing delivery. This study offers a blueprint for policymakers and housing industry leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy for adopting 4IR technologies in housing delivery, enhancing collaboration and driving progress towards Saudi Arabia’s sustainable housing goals.

Estimates of Total Oil & Gas Reserves in The World, Future of Oil and Gas Companies and SMART Investments by E & P Companies in Renewable Energy Sources for Future Energy Needs