The United Nations Trade and Development Agency (UNCTAD) has confirmed that Saudi Arabia is one of the first countries in the world to work on creating a scientific and reliable methodology to measure the volume and value of e-commerce in accordance with best international standards and practices.
This was announced during a workshop held as part of the 68th regular meeting of the Electronic Commerce Council, which was attended by 25 government agencies and a number of Council members, led by Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al Qasabi.
framework
UNCTAD experts indicated that the organization is collaborating with the Kingdom on a comprehensive framework for measuring the volume and value of e-commerce and digital commerce in the Kingdom, as well as assessing the level of adoption of digital commerce, measuring the value of transactions, growing the sector, improving competitiveness, strengthening digital economy policies and improving the efficiency of government services for the business sector.
pioneering site
The Council formed a working team led by members of the Secretariat and 11 government agencies to follow up on the implementation of the project work with UNCTAD. This will place Saudi Arabia in a leading position at the global level as a result of the comprehensiveness of the mechanism for measuring the volume of e-commerce in all categories according to internationally accepted definitions.
The meeting included a discussion of the Council’s activities and cooperation initiatives with a number of international organizations and relevant government agencies aimed at promoting electronic commerce and identifying necessary regulatory and procedural reforms.
Participants at the regular meeting were briefed on the General Transport Authority’s plans to deal with increased demand during the season (Ramadan), with officials noting that the volume of orders at electronics stores increases significantly during holidays and national events, which contributes to the increase in the volume of mail sent during these seasons.
Service efficiency
The authorities shall demonstrate that the plan contributes to improving the efficiency of services provided during Ramadan, improving the quality of postal services and recipient satisfaction, and building governance for cooperation with relevant authorities and stakeholders, and The shipment volume of child commerce increased by 18% last year, recording 26 million shipments compared to 22 million in the 2024 Ramadan period, while complaints registered during the 2024 Ramadan period were lower than before. The number of complaints increased to 4,330 and 1,700 during Ramadan.
It is worth noting that the E-Commerce Council, since its establishment in 2018, has been responsible for proposing policies and laws, supervising programs (promotion of e-commerce), and coordinating with relevant authorities to unify efforts, eliminate obstacles faced by e-commerce and ensure effective implementation of the program’s projects and recommendations.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has confirmed that Saudi Arabia is one of the first countries in the world to establish a scientific and reliable methodology for measuring the scale and value of e-commerce in accordance with best international standards and practices.
This took place during a workshop held as part of the 68th regular meeting of the E-Commerce Council, which was chaired by Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al Qassabi and attended by 25 government agencies along with several council members.
framework
UNCTAD experts indicated that UNCTAD is collaborating with the Kingdom on a comprehensive framework to measure the scale and value of e-commerce and digital trade in the Kingdom, as well as promoting digital economy policies to assess the level of digital trade adoption, measure transaction value, assess sector growth, strengthen competitiveness, and improve the efficiency of government services for the business sector.
pioneering position
The Council formed a working group, chaired by the Secretariat and including 11 government agencies, to follow up on the implementation of the project with UNCTAD. The working group is expected to put Saudi Arabia in a pioneering position globally by comprehensively measuring the scale of e-commerce across all categories according to internationally accepted definitions.
The meeting included a discussion of the Council’s activities and cooperation initiatives with several international organizations and relevant government agencies aimed at promoting electronic commerce, and identified necessary regulatory and procedural reforms.
Participants at the regular meeting were briefed on the General Transport Authority’s plans to deal with the increased demand during the Ramadan season, and it was shown that the volume of orders through online stores increases significantly during holidays and national events, contributing to the increase in the volume of mail shipments during these seasons.
service efficiency
The authorities said the plan will contribute to increasing the efficiency of services provided during Ramadan, improving the quality of postal services and satisfaction of beneficiaries, and establishing governance to cooperate with relevant organizations and stakeholders. The report noted that the volume of e-commerce shipments during Ramadan increased by 18% last year, recording 26 million shipments compared to 22 million during Ramadan 2024, while the number of complaints registered during Ramadan 2024 decreased to 1,700 from 4,330 in the previous Ramadan period.
It is worth mentioning that since its establishment in 2018, the E-Commerce Council has been responsible for proposing policies and laws, supervising the (E-Commerce Stimulus) Program, coordinating with relevant bodies to unify efforts, eliminating obstacles faced by e-commerce, and ensuring effective implementation of the program’s projects and recommendations.
