The most important initiatives, projects and strategic plans of the Ministry of Commerce to achieve sustainable development in line with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
The most important initiatives, projects and strategic plans of the Ministry of Commerce in order to achieve sustainable development:
Ministry initiatives and projects
| Achieving sustainable development
|
|---|
The Initiative of Digital Transformation
To access the initiative, click here
| This initiative aims to achieve the goal in terms of the sustainable development by transferring the business activities online, so that to facilitate the procedures and make them easier and more accessible, also this initiative includes the environment issue by converting the Ministry into (The Green Ministry); that is by converting all paper transactions into electronic.
|
The Initiative of Empowering the National Program for Combating the Commercial Concealment
To access the initiative, click here
| Among the objectives of this initiative is the elimination of the Commercial Concealment, which will greatly help in solving the unemployment problem and would help in activating the sustainable development goal.
|
Ministry of Commerce has been depending on two main interrelated principles for its works and activities. Such two principles appear in sustainable development and preservation of environment. The ministry has always sought to achieve the comprehensive concept of sustainability in all its e-Services and transactions where all its procedures are being re-engineered in a suitable ways allowing updates, restructuring and innovation in addition to integration with other relevant government agencies. All over such work activities and processes re-engineering, the Ministry has never ignored preservation of environment. This section illustrates the efforts made by the Ministries in both aspects of sustainable development and environment:
Firstly: Sustainable Development:
The Ministry of Commerce works to apply the comprehensive concept of sustainable development. In this regard, it depends on deliberated work plans that are capable of utilizing all available resources without affecting the coming generations rights regarding such resources. As a whole, the Ministry has been focusing on the economic, social and human perspectives when executing any works and activities.
The main perspectives of sustainability regarding Ministry of Commerce activities include:
Social perspective: Activation of commerce sector to contribute to creation of jobs and resolving unemployment problem. Emphasis is also made on women role in the community. Rules to facilitate engagement of women in the private sector are adopted while opening several areas for women to contribute to the development of the community.
Economic perspective: Upgrading Ministry of Commerce activities by delivering e-Services in an easy and simple manner that saves customers' time and effort while boosting economic development and being reflected positively on customers' business activities. Ministry of Commerce foresees the need for flexibility of launched services to ensure accommodation of future emerging needs and ensure integration with other government agencies.
Environment perspective: Preservation of environment by launching technology based interdepartmental transactions and e-Services. Paperless services will be delivered to the customer wherever he/she is located without the need to physically visit Ministry of Commerce premises. This means less vehicle driving and less pollution which will eventually be positively reflected on the environment.
Ministry of Commerce adoption of sustainable development is based on several actions including:
- Decision making process depends on brainstorming, deep analysis and research
- Balance between demands and available resources (e.g. objectives and budget)
- Engagement of the community and depending on feedback from the public
- Objective and progressive assessment of all activities
- Developing detailed and comprehensive plans while making alternative solutions, risk management and establishing applicable objectives.
- Establishing easy to measure KPIs, and regular monitoring of work progress
- Increasing public awareness relating to Ministry of Commerce activities to ensure positive interaction with the public
Here is an illustration of the main works and activities executed by Ministry of Commerce in addition to services offered reflecting its adoption of sustainable development concept:
Boosting women's role in business activities through the following actions:
- Participating in exhibitions and events targeting ladies community by offering a lot of services including e-services
- Offering several and diverse services through Ministry of Commerce female section in the Woman House Services Center. The Centre is designed to eliminate all obstacles encountered by women and provide all the services needed including issuance of commercial register from Ministry of Commerce branches.
Simplifying business rules for young entrepreneurs:
Ministry of Commerce seeks to simplify access of young entrepreneurs to business by simplification of procedure and mitigating prerequisites. Moreover, it supports medium size, small and micro enterprises. The most prominent facilities in this regard include:
Issuance of a commercial register in 180 seconds. For more details, you may click here
Simplification of procedures and offering easy customer friendly e-services
Ministry of Commerce seeks to provide easy, simple and flexible e-services that can be re-structured to accommodate future demands and ensure integration with other government agencies to ensure delivery of a range of e-services; a process that boosts the concept of sustainable e-services.
Secondly: Preservation of environment and realization of the (Green Ministry) concept
Ministry of Commerce has successfully implemented substantial standards that make it eligible for (Green Ministry) title. A statistical study conducted by Ministry of Commerce on traditional practices of paperwork based services, correspondence and transactions versus adoption of the e-government concept on the other hand, revealed that Ministry of Commerce has been able in one year to preserve about 4970 trees by virtue of e-services
Moreover, Ministry of Commerce seeks to use e-government concept as a tool to improve its performance and ensure more efficiency and effectiveness. In the same perspective, achieving (Green Ministry) objective helps Ministry of Commerce in a way or another to expand the scope of environment maintenance by stimulating a wide range of effective communal participation of its customers that would result in less visits to Ministry of Commerce premises and elimination of waste of a lot of resources including time and effort while eliminating congestion within the city, pollution, waste of power and raw material.
Ministry of Commerce adopts an integrated set of standards to ensure industrial activities compliance with health and environment rules and regulations that are enacted by the competent government authorities. Any business activity that entails impact on environment will not be licensed before conditions of other relevant authorities are satisfied by the business seeking license
Actions taken by Ministry of Commerce to ensure realization of Green Ministry concept include the following:
1. Emphasis on the concept of Ministry of Commerce smart buildings and offices
2. Ensure interdepartmental e-services transition and eliminate environmental risks by getting rid of paperwork
3. Conduct orientation and training for Ministry of Commerce employees on e-Government practices
4. Ensure awareness activities point out the importance of e-Government as an environment friendly concept. Ministry of Commerce uses multiple channels for awareness purposes including its own portal, e-publications, news, press releases and participation in relevant workshops
5. Interaction with the public
6. Elimination of paperwork within the ministry