Saudi Arabia announced $800 million in development loans through the Saudi Development Fund to finance development projects for the least developed countries in Africa, Asia and other regions of the world.
Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim said at the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which is being held in the Qatari capital Doha: “Despite the progress in development and social development made in the past fifty years, the main problems facing the least developed countries still persist.” which caused a group of these countries to deviate from the right path to achieve sustainable development.
He added: “In line with its vision for 2030, the Kingdom is implementing many initiatives and projects that contribute and effectively contribute to progress towards economic prosperity, social well-being and environmental protection for all, in line with the sustainable development agenda.” . This was reported by the Saudi Press Agency SPA.
He stressed that Saudi Arabia is committed to working hard to support the least developed countries, making great efforts to help countries overcome their circumstances and challenges, and work side by side with the international community to push them towards progress and development. In addition to its global leadership in responsible development, as it has provided over $96 billion in humanitarian and development assistance spanning 167 countries over the past three decades.
Al-Ibrahim said that the Saudi Development Fund has directed most of its development activities to the continents of Africa and Asia due to the low level of the economy and development of some of their countries, in addition to high population growth, unemployment and low income levels in these countries, since from 1975 to the end of 2022 AD. a total of 330 loans were provided to the least developed countries to finance 308 projects and development programs for a total of $6.26 billion, of which 35 were won by the least developed countries.
Al Ibrahim explained that the King Salman Humanitarian and Relief Center has provided generous support in the form of multi-sector humanitarian and emergency aid packages that support sustainable development goals in many of the world’s least developed and poorest countries, especially during natural disasters and disasters. crises that affected many poor countries. She led to serious disruptions in development and prevented the implementation of her plans.
In this regard, the Center has provided US$6.2 billion in multisectoral humanitarian and emergency assistance to 90 countries, most of which are least developed countries, with 2,314 projects implemented in the food security and nutrition, health care, education, water supply and environmental sanitation.
And the Minister of Economy and Planning pointed out that the Kingdom has allocated a special development program directed from one country to another, which was established in 2018 AD, and this is the “Saudi Yemen Development and Reconstruction Program”, which established the development strategy of the program to serve the development plans and meet the needs in coordination with the government of Yemen and in line with the Global Sustainable Development Goals, using previous international experience in development and reconstruction, and worked to find suitable and sustainable development solutions, and provide sustainable support for the economy and development in various fields , as the program has implemented 224 projects and development initiatives worth $917 million in 7 major sectors to date. contributing to the capacity building of Yemeni government institutions.
At the end of his speech, Al Ibrahim reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to finding a comprehensive and sustainable approach that will enable the least developed countries to build their institutional capacity and develop good governance that ensures the optimal use of resources, as well as create more opportunities and opportunities to help them achieve sustainable development goals. that include developing the talent, resources and operational plans that least developed countries need to transform themselves from within.”
He added that the Kingdom will make every effort to cooperate with all actors and work with our international partners on our initiatives to support development for the benefit of humanity and will continue to play its leading role in all areas of development at the regional and international levels. through the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and looks forward to working together to achieve the goals of the Doha Work Program for the current decade (2021-2030).
