Saudi Fund for Development’s contributions to transform challenges into opportunities in Vietnam and the world
WVR - The Embassy of the Kindom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) held an event titled “Transforming challenges into opportunities: Saudi Fund for Development’s contributions in Vietnam and the World” in Hanoi on November 6.
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| Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy said that, established in 1974, SFD is a Saudi Arabian government financial agency that plays a significant role in funding development projects in developing countries. |
Attending the event there were Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy, Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Sultan Al-Marshad; representatives ministries and agencies of Viet Nam and Ambassadors, Chargé d'Affaires, and Heads of International Organizations in Hanoi.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy said that, established in 1974, SFD is a Saudi Arabian government financial agency that plays a significant role in funding development projects in developing countries.
The fund’s mission is to support economic growth and social progress in those countries, by leveraging Saudi Arabia’s strengths and providing financial or technical resources to projects that address the needs of beneficiary populations.
According to the Ambassador, SFD has so far funded more than 800 development projects and programs in 100 countries across a wide range of sectors. In addition to providing grants and loans for developing countries, SFD has also contributed to international organizations for development on behalf of the Kingdom’s Government.
“What SFD has done has turned challenges facing the financed communities into opportunities and given wings to their dreams toward a more advanced living environment”, said the Ambassador.
SFD has made a significant impact over the past five decades in different parts of the world, and its commitment to economic growth and social progress has uplifted communities worldwide, embodying the values of global cooperation and compassion, he stated.
Saudi Arabian Ambassador also noted that in Vietnam, SFD has provided concessional loans to 12 projects, ranging from building, expanding educational and medical facilities to constructing roads, and rehabilitating disaster-affected infrastructure in rural areas. These contributions demonstrate the Kingdom’s attention and interest in the socio-economic development of Viet Nam, he said.
Referring the recent visit made by Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia in October to attend ASEAN-GCC summit, Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy praised the strong ties and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, which have seen significant progress over the past 24 years and enhanced collaboration across various sectors and effective coordination on international forums.
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| Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Sultan Al-Marshad said that the Fund’s development projects focus on a wide range of sectors. |
According to Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Sultan Al-Marshad, the Fund’s development projects focus on a wide range of sectors, which include education, healthcare, renewable energy, social infrastructure, and agriculture, among others. SFD also plays an essential role to mitigate global issues relating to climate change and food security through its different initiatives.
He noted that SFD has provided 12 development loans worth over $164 million to finance 12 projects in Vietnam, contributing towards achieving sustainable, social, and economic development across the country. SFD's development projects in Vietnam included the construction and expansion of hospitals, vocational training centers, and roads. SFD has also funded projects to rehabilitate the infrastructure for flood affected areas, he added.
He also took the occasion to announce the official inauguration of the Ha Nam Vocational College, which SFD funded through a contribution amounting to over $9 million USD.
“The projects that we have funded in Vietnam and around the world are all aligned with our commitment to advancing sustainable development in developing countries. We are proud to partner with the Vietnamese government, and other stakeholders, to help Vietnam achieve its long-term development goals and look forward to enhancing our development relations”, he said.
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| Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong expressed his sincere thanks to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Viet Nam for hosting the event. |
In his speech, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong noted that since Viet Nam started taking loans from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) in 2010, the fund has provided over US$165 million to 12 projects in different localities, of which 10 projects were completed and put into use and 02 projects are being implemented, namely the projects of "Improvement of infrastructure for agricultural development and climate change response in Cu Lao Tay, Binh Thanh district, Dong Thap province" and of "Construction of inter-regional transport infrastructure to support socio-economic development of poor districts in Yen Bai province".
Over the past period, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as the focal agency of the Government for managing loans and concessional loans, has closely coordinated with ministries, central authorities, and localities to select investment projects, complete their due procedures, and submit them to SFD for financing consideration. Of these, 03 projects are in the process of completing procedures, namely "Dak Nong Community College" project, "Renovation of Provincial Road 209, Cao Bang province" project, and the project of "Renovation of the planned section of National Highway 12D, Dien Bien province", he added.
Regarding the fields and regions of funding, the Deputy Minister said SFD has mainly prioritized projects in the fields of rural transport, health care, irrigation, vocational training, climate change response, among others. The financed regions are concentrated in remote areas and localities with limited development resources or undeveloped economic conditions that are in need of investment, such as Dien Bien, Cao Bang, and Yen Bai.
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| Participants at the event. |
“Unlike some major sponsors that have large capital/projects scale with complex and multidisciplinary designs, the SFD-funded projects have small and medium scales with not too complicated and single-sector designs, and they focus on a number of specific fields. Therefore, the preparation and implementation of these projects are smooth and fast; and so is the access of localities that have budget difficulties and limited project implementation experience, thereby contributing directly to hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and improving people's lives in those localities. After completion, the SFD-financed projects have been put into effective use, and contributed to promoting local socio-economic development”, he stated.
After completion, the SFD-financed projects have been put into effective use, and contributed to promoting local socio-economic development.
In the context that the world is facing many challenges and Viet Nam is entering a new stage of development and in the process of transforming its growth model towards improving competitiveness, participating in global value chains towards developing a green, digital and circular economy, “in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the support of international partners and organizations, such as the Saudi Fund for Development, will play a crucial role”, he said.
The year 2024 will mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Saudi Arabia, an important milestone for the cooperation between the two countries. The Deputy Minister expressed his hope that SFD will serve as a bridge to enhance the relations between Viet Nam and Saudi Arabia towards new prospects for cooperation that are aligned with the two sides’ priority areas.
He also committed that the Ministry of Planning and Investment always accompany, support, and coordinate with ministries, central and local authorities to solve problems in legal procedures, facilitate the valuable funding flows, as well as to implement SFD-financed projects in an effective and sustainable manner.
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| Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province Nguyen Van Toan speaks at the event. |
At the event, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province Nguyen Van Toan shared about the support and assistance of SFD for the province with an ODA loan to implement the “Extension of Hoa Binh Province General Hospital” project worth total 20.8 million USD, of which the ODA loan from SFD is US$10.5 million.
“It can be assessed that the ODA loan of SFD has been invested, through Hoa Binh province, in truly necessary items and has brought into full play its investment efficiency… The completion of the project has directly raised the size of the provincial General Hospital by about 35% (to 1,000 beds), making an important contribution to completing facilities, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment of Hoa Binh Province General Hospital in particular, and of Hoa Binh province’s health system in general”, he said.
He expressed his thanks to the experts of SFD and said that the province looks forward to further cooperation in the coming time, thus, contributing to strengthening the cooperative relations between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
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| Participants at the event in a group photo. (Photo: M.A) |
