Saudi Arabia, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area (approximately 2,250,000 km2), and the second-largest in the Arab world after Algeria. The Kingdom was founded in 1932 and the governance system is based on constitutional monarchy. Its population is estimated at 31.4 million, of which 33% are registered expatriates. The per capita income of Saudi Arabia is US$ 55,125 (US$ at PPP) for 2016 (IMF). Saudi Arabia was ranked 38 out of 188 in the latest edition of UNDP’s Human Development Report (2016). The life expectancy at birth is estimated at 74.1 years while the mean schooling is estimated at 7.8 years (HDR 2016). Saudi Arabia has the world's largest oil reserves which are concentrated largely in the Eastern Province. It has also the world's sixth largest natural gas resources.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – November 13, 2025 – The Islamic Development Bank Group successfully concluded its first Results & Evaluation Week, a landmark initiative to strengthen accountability, learning, and performance across the institution; reaffirming that evaluation will remain central to its transformation, and the collective effort of staff, partners, and stakeholders will ensures knowledge and evidence continue to drive sustainable development across its 57 member countries.
The joint Results and Evaluation Symposium united, for the
first time, the Independent Evaluation Department (IEvD), the Strategy, Budget, and Corporate Performance Department (SBCP), and the development effectiveness teams of ICD, ITFC, and ICIEC. Sessions explored evaluability, strategic learning, and the integration of development results, corporate performance, and evaluation insights into the IsDB Group's corporate strategies.
"Evaluation ensures accountability by providing an objective, evidence-based assessment of our performance, impact, and value creation. However, beyond accountability, evaluation is our engine of institutional learning," said H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, Chairman of the IsDB Group, in a message delivered by H.E. Dr. Zamir Iqbal, Vice President, Finance.
Dr. Syurkani Ishak Kasim, Director of SBCP, highlighted progress in embedding monitoring and evaluation into IsDB's strategic planning and operations, reaffirming the Bank's commitment to transparency, effectiveness, and continuous learning.
In his closing statement, Mohameden Mohamed Sidiya, Director of IEvD, underscored that the insights from this week translate into concrete actions. Evaluability cannot be an afterthought – it must be designed into our strategy from day one. This means clear theories of change, clearly stated objectives with measurable indicators and baselines, realistic risk assessment, and governance structures that enable rather than constrain delivery.
The event featured keynote addresses and high-level panels with representatives from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank Group, International Fund for Agricultural Development, member countries and academia. Highlights included the 2025 Evaluation Awards, which recognized excellence in evaluation practice within the IsDB Group. Awards were presented in two categories: Best Project Completion Reports (PCRs), with first, second and third place winners; and Best Contributors to STEER (Systematic Tracking of Execution of Evaluation Recommendations), recognizing one Regional Hub and one Headquarters department. Pre-symposium seminars on performance-driven culture and Bayesian evaluation methods, and participation from over 300 IsDB staff and global partners, further enriched the event.