Umm Al-Qura University, represented in the Administrative Development Unit launched a training program on Wednesday and Tuesday, 25-26 Shawal 1438AH in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance. The program was launched under the name "Statistics of the Government's Ministry of Finance" for 70 trainees from all government agencies in Makkah. It was held in the presence of the Director-General of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Abdullah Al-Askar, at the historic King Abdulaziz hall at the UQU Campus in Abideya.

The Head of the Administrative Development Unit at the University, Mr. Fahd Al-Sharief, said that a number of representatives from government bodies in Makkah are taking part in the training program. Training portfolios were prepared for the program, including assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, job classification, and information technology. He explained that the Emirate of Makkah Region, the Secretariat of the Holy Capital, and the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques are among the participants in the program.

He praised the keenness and cooperation of the officials of the Ministry of Finance to establish this training program which the Administrative Development Unit at the University is honored to supervise. He also praised the support and guidance of the University's President, Dr. Bakri bin Maatouk Assass, and Vice President, Dr. Yasser bin Soliman Shosho's follow-up of the unit, leaving a positive impact on its excellence in several aspects, and resulting in establishing courses with high inputs suitable for the training portfolios of the Public Administration Institute.

In his message, Mr. Abdullah Al-Askar explained that the training session organized about the government financial statistics (GFS) is based on the Kingdom's 2030 vision, and the 2020 National Transition Program, in order to qualify human resources to apply the classification of the state's general budget mentioned in the GFS guide. This session also came out of the desire to continue the courses organized by the ministry in previous rounds to qualify specialists in government agencies to deal with the new classification and its application, hence, the success of the transition is based on the specialists' understanding of it, its requirements, and applications methods. 

He stressed the importance of re-classifying the state's general budget according to the economic and functional classification in the GFS as an essential element in the analysis of public finances. He also stressed the need for precise and correct data in general, as well as government's finance data in particular in order to analyze financial policies and understand its impacts on the overall economic activity.

Al-Askar said that this program aims to reform the government's finance, including the transition towards applying the GFS 2014 system and adhering to the special data dissemination standard, the annual statistical book, and the government financial information management system, noting that they have an essential role in establishing sound financial programs and keeping an eye on their implementation as well as the implementation of economic policies. He praised the efforts of the University to supervise and implement this training program.