Head of "Nizah" discusses cooperation with her Saudi counterpart in Riyadh

Riyadh, Oct 7 (KUNA) -- Dr. Rana Al-Faris, Chairperson of the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaha), held talks today with Mazen Al-Qumous, Chairman of the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha), to discuss cooperation between the two entities.

In a statement, Al-Faris noted that these discussions are part of the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two authorities in 2022, reflecting a move to activate it more effectively and translate institutional cooperation into practical exchanges of expertise and experiences.

She reported that the Kuwaiti delegation reviewed one of the most prominent regional experiences in combating corruption, benefiting from an advanced and firm model in supervision, investigation, accountability, asset recovery, and protection of public funds. Al-Faris emphasized Nazaha’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with peer institutions and learning from advanced experiences in the fight against corruption.

She added that the Saudi experience has achieved notable results in combating corruption, including the recovery of funds and assets, alongside accumulating institutional and practical expertise in pursuing corruption cases, enhancing supervision, and protecting public funds.

Al-Faris stated, “We look forward to benefiting from experiences that have proven their ability to achieve practical results in combating corruption, moving from identifying flaws and suspicions to more effective tools for detection, investigation, accountability, protection of public funds, and asset recovery.”

She affirmed that “combating corruption does not stop at prevention and awareness; it requires an integrated system equipped with the necessary tools and capabilities for detection, investigation, accountability, as well as prevention, and enhancing integrity and transparency. This makes exchanging expertise with peer agencies with advanced experiences an important part of developing institutional and technical capacities.”

Al-Faris confirmed that Nazaha looks forward to this visit marking the beginning of a broader path of practical cooperation with the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority, building on the existing memorandum of understanding and transforming it into more effective cooperation pathways that allow for mutual benefit from expertise and experiences.

For his part, Dr. Majed Al-Daihani, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Authority, confirmed that the talks aim to build on successful experiences and practices and benefit from them practically, contributing to the development of supervisory tools and enhancing the institutional and technical capacities of the Authority.

Al-Daihani said that “benefiting from advanced experiences does not mean copying them as they are, but rather studying their tools, practices, and results, and utilizing those that align with the legislative and institutional environment in the State of Kuwait.”

He affirmed that exchanging knowledge and expertise with peer agencies constitutes one of the important pathways for developing the anti-corruption system and enhancing its ability to protect public funds.

Al-Daihani added that the coming phase will see the Authority keen on expanding the circle of cooperation with peer agencies and reviewing the best regional and international experiences and practices, contributing to the development of the Authority’s tools and capabilities and enhancing its effectiveness in preventing and combating corruption.

Dr. Rana Al-Faris led the Nazaha delegation during the official visit to Riyadh, accompanied by Dr. Majed Mohammed Al-Daihani, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors; Mr. Dhiya Issam Al-Otaibi, Board Member; Mr. Fawaz Mahallel Al-Mutairi, Assistant Secretary-General for the Corruption Detection and Investigation Sector; and Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Wazan, Representative of the International Cooperation Department.

The visit included reviewing the Saudi experience and the operational mechanisms followed by the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority, as well as presenting the most prominent institutional experiences and practices of both sides.

It also involved discussing several files of mutual interest in the fields of supervision, investigation, and corruption prevention; mechanisms for handling financial and administrative corruption cases; asset recovery; and developing institutional and technical tools and capabilities supporting anti-corruption efforts.

The visit by the Public Authority for Combating Corruption in the State of Kuwait to the Anti-Corruption Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comes within the framework of its strategy to enhance cooperation with peer institutions, review advanced regional and international experiences in combating corruption, and benefit from models that have achieved tangible results in supervision, investigation, pursuing corruption cases, asset recovery, and protecting public funds. (End) K.N.S / H.S.S