The Ministry of Labor and Social Development is committed to work under the National Transformation Program 2020 to build a strong nonprofit sector that contributes to achieving the development goals, realizing Saudi Vision 2030 that targets the expansion of the sector. Delivering a keynote address after inaugurating the Nonprofit Sector Development Forum here at the weekend, Deputy Minister Ahmed Al-Humaidan said the ministry is seeking to expand the scope of charity work and empower its staff to serve development purposes, increase charitable funds and build its capacity. The ministry aims to empower nongovernment organizations and charitable foundations to employ qualified individuals who are willing to transfer knowledge to others and implement best practices in the field, Al-Humaidan said during the forum held under the emblem of "The Role of the Nonprofit Sector in The Implantation of Saudi Vision 2030' organized by the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). Al-Humaidan added the ministry is keen to empower and institutionalize the volunteering work and encourage awqafs (endowments) to appear on the surface through having access to sustainable resources. Additionally, it endeavors to review related regulations, and empower the nonprofit sector through clear objectives, plans and unswerving follow-up, in order to be effective in serving several sectors including health, education, housing, researches, social programs and cultural activities, noted the vice minister. The ministry and its affiliating entities have made every effort to support the nonprofit sector and help the NGOs to achieve sustainable and set up their projects, becoming one of the sectors that attracts talents because of its work environment, noted Al-Humaidan. Dr. Khalid Al-Sultan, president of KFUPM, said the forum was in response to the growing needs of the nonprofit sector to expand over the past two decades as well as the presence of charitable entities to tackle various issues of development and humanity work at the local, regional and global levels. Al-Sultan added that the forum is merely in sync with the transition period that prepares the sector to cause social development instead of giving social security assistance to individuals and societies, which comes hand in hand with Saudi Vision and the NTP 2020. Dr. Salem Al-Dini, deputy minister for social development at the ministry, said that the forum is conceived through the targets set by the NTP 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030 that pursue the transformation of the sector into an influential and a contributing one to address the development work, increase its contribution to the gross domestic product and the workforce and distribute social services across various parts of the Kingdom. Al-Dini said that the Kingdom is witnessing a new phase that contributes to the development and prosperity of the nonprofit sector as it is actually taking part in the social development. Al-Dini urged officials to roll up their sleeves and go on field trip to apply whatever can be done and needed with their devotion and diligence in order to make the sector an integral part of the public and private sector as well as a contributor to the development work.
