Madinah first Arab city to gain Gold Level in UN’s SDG Cities Initiative

Madinah, Saudi Arabia — The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has recognized Madinah for attaining Gold Level in the SDG Cities Global Initiative, becoming the first Saudi and Arab city, and the third internationally, to receive this recognition of achievement.

Al-Madinah Region Development Authority said that the city was recognized for having met the comprehensive assessment criteria for UN basic data in the field of sustainable urban development, and for having carried out transformative measures to achieve goals in collaboration with all other stakeholders.

Last month, UNESCO announced that Madinah was one of the three Saudi cities –the others being King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and Al-Ahsa — that joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.

With this development, Saudi Arabia now boasts five cities enlisted in the UNESCO GNLC, contributing to the goal of equipping globally competitive citizens in alignment with the sustainable development goals and Saudi Vision 2030.

Read fully story here: Saudi Arabia’s Madinah, KAEC, Al-Ahsa join UNESCO global network of learning cities – TRENDS Mena

Madinah was one of the four cities in Saudi Arabia that were placed in the IMD Smart City Index for 2023.

According to the index, released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the Saudi capital city of Riyadh maintained its position as the third smartest Arab city.

Makkah entered in the index for the first time this year with the 4^th rank while Jeddah ranked 5^th and Madinah ranked 7^th in the Arab world. At the global level, Riyadh ranked 30^th, Makkah 52^nd, Jeddah 56th, and Madinah ranked 85^th out of a total 141 cities in the world.

Read: Four Saudi cities find top slots on IMD Smart City Index for 2023