Riyadh, Aug 16, 2020, SPA -- A royal order has established a ministerial committee to oversee the national program to combat commercial cover-up and to propose solutions and initiatives that would combat the phenomenon of commercial cover-up and eliminate it. The committee shall also supervise the implementation of initiatives and develop indicators to measure the performance of all concerned authorities, while following up on compliance with the implementation of recommendations issued in this regard. The order affirmed that the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority shall undertake the task of building an index to measure the percentage of suspected cases of commercial cover-up, and updating it periodically according to the data it receives from the concerned authorities. The order also stipulated that the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the General Authority for Zakat and Income, and any other agency designated by the Supervisory Committee, shall undertake the tasks of providing the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence with the necessary data for the indicator for measuring suspected cases of cover-up on a quarterly basis. The order directed the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to develop a plan to oblige all grocery stores and supplies with the updated municipal requirements for grocery and supplies stores sector in order to ensure their implementation within the specified time frame, and to prepare an indicator to measure the sector’s adherence to the requirements and submit what the ministry takes in this regard to the Council of Economic and Development Affairs during 60 days. The membership of the Supervisory Committee to Combat Commercial Cover-up, which is chaired by the Minister of Trade, shall also include the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and the President of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence. The national program for fighting commercial cover-up was established to address commercial cover-up in all sectors and stimulate e-commerce and use of technological solutions. The program also continues to organize financial transactions to reduce the exit of funds, promote private sector growth, create a competitive environment that attracts Saudis and encourages them to invest and find solutions to the problem of foreigners' illegal ownership in the private sector. --SPA 00:45 LOCAL TIME 21:45 GMT 0029 www.spa.gov.sa/w1392015