GCC Secretary General Mandates Financial Literacy as Governance Duty Across Member States

RIYADH: GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi used the platform of the 4th Annual Ceremony of the Smart Gulf Investor Award to frame financial literacy not as optional consumer guidance but as a core governance responsibility binding on all six member states.

Speaking in Riyadh at an event organized under the “Mulim” GCC Investment Awareness Programme, Albudaiwi positioned the initiative as a practical model for coordinated institutional action, one built on the integration of efforts among relevant authorities across member states, the systematic exchange of expertise, and the delivery of financial and investment literacy messaging to diverse population segments. The argument was direct: market stability and investor protection cannot be achieved within a single jurisdiction alone.

The governance challenge Albudaiwi identified is concrete. The expansion of digital platforms has broadened market access while simultaneously multiplying the diversity of risks, fraudulent methods, and unreliable information reaching investors. That environment, he argued, makes a conscious and informed investor base a regulatory necessity, not a policy aspiration. Investor education, in this framing, is tied directly to market integrity.

The scale of what is at stake gives the argument weight. By the end of June 2026, market capitalization across GCC financial markets had reached approximately USD 4 trillion. Traded share volumes stood at around 228 billion shares, with a trading value approaching USD 307 billion. Against those figures, Albudaiwi linked the “Mulim” programme to the broader institutional objective of strengthening regulatory frameworks to keep pace with economic and technological transformation, support economic diversification, and raise the region’s attractiveness to local and international investors.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General reframed the award itself in institutional terms. The Smart Gulf Investor Award, he said, is not primarily a recognition ceremony. Its value lies in contributing to a Gulf-wide objective of building a society more capable of managing its resources, shaping its financial future, and converting financial knowledge into sustainable behavior and practice. That framing positions the award as an instrument of governance change.

Albudaiwi extended formal thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and to Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for Saudi Arabia’s sponsorship of the award and the support provided to GCC work. He also acknowledged the Capital Market Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the ceremony and supporting both the “Mulim” programme and the award, along with all participating and partner entities across the GCC states.

He closed by expressing his aspiration for the award to continue fostering awareness, embedding a culture of responsible investment, and contributing to a Gulf generation that is more aware, confident, and capable of shaping its future. Whether the coordinated regulatory frameworks he described will keep pace with the speed of digital market expansion remains the open question for the authorities involved.