Nizahah Delegation Discusses Enhancing Anti-Corruption Tools with Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority

- Al-Faris: The decision to adopt the Saudi experience was made to benefit from a robust model that has proven effective in combating corruption and safeguarding public funds.

- Al-Daihani: Our objective is to transfer best practices and successful experiences, and to develop our oversight tools to enhance the protection of public funds.

- The Kingdom has achieved remarkable results in combating corruption and recovering funds and assets.

- Kuwaiti-Saudi discussions to exchange expertise in oversight, investigation, prevention, asset recovery, and the development of anti-corruption tools.

The Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaah) confirmed that its delegation’s visit to the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaah) is part of its strategy to enhance cooperation with peer institutions and to learn from advanced regional and international experiences in combating corruption. The visit aims to benefit from models that have yielded tangible results in oversight, investigation, pursuing corruption cases, asset recovery, and protecting public funds.

Dr. Rana Al-Faris, Chairperson of the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaah), led the delegation during the official visit to Riyadh. She was accompanied by Dr. Majid Mohammed Al-Daihani, Vice Chairman of the Authority’s Board of Directors; Ms. Dhiya Issam Al-Attiyah, Board Member; Fawaz Mahallel Al-Mutairi, Assistant Secretary-General for the Corruption Detection and Investigation Sector; and Abdulrahman Al-Wazan, Representative of the International Cooperation Department. The visit was conducted under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two authorities in 2022, reflecting a broader trend to activate this agreement and translate institutional cooperation into practical exchanges of expertise and experiences.

Al-Faris emphasized that the visit to the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority aligns with Nazaah’s commitment to strengthening ties with peer institutions and learning from advanced anti-corruption practices. This stems from a desire to observe one of the most prominent regional experiences in the field and to benefit from a rigorous and advanced model in oversight, investigation, accountability, asset recovery, and the protection of public funds.

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 oversight, and safeguarding public funds.

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

She further noted that “combating corruption does not stop at prevention and awareness; it requires a comprehensive system equipped with the necessary tools and capabilities for detection, investigation, accountability, as well as prevention, integrity enhancement, and transparency. This makes exchanging expertise with peer institutions that possess advanced experiences a crucial part of developing institutional and technical capacities.”

She pointed out that Nazaah hopes this visit marks the beginning of a broader path of practical cooperation with the Saudi Anti-Corruption Authority, building upon the existing MoU between the two parties and transforming it into more effective cooperation channels that enable mutual benefit from shared expertise and experiences.

For his part, Dr. Majid Mohammed Al-Daihani, Vice Chairman of the Authority’s Board of Directors, confirmed that the visit aims to build on successful experiences and practices and to utilize them practically, thereby contributing to the development of Nazaah’s oversight tools and enhancing its institutional and technical capacities.

Al-Daihani stated that “benefiting from advanced experiences does not mean copying them as they are, but rather studying their tools, practices, and outcomes, and leveraging those that align with Kuwait’s legislative and institutional environment.” He emphasized that exchanging knowledge and expertise with peer agencies constitutes an important pathway for developing the anti-corruption framework and enhancing its capacity to safeguard public funds.

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

The visit included reviewing the Saudi experience and the operational mechanisms followed by the National Anti-Corruption Authority (Naca), 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 oversight, investigation, and corruption prevention, mechanisms for handling financial and administrative corruption cases and asset recovery, and developing institutional and technical tools and capacities supporting anti-corruption efforts.

The visit comes as an extension of the deep-rooted fraternal relations between the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and within the framework of institutional cooperation between the two Authorities under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022, thereby enhancing joint coordination and the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the fields of integrity, oversight, and anti-corruption.