The Saudi Fund for Development has agreed to provide $10 million to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to support the financial institution's newly created programs. This effort aims to boost infrastructure development in low-income nations. According to the SPA, it intends to assist AIIB in bridging the funding gap in infrastructure and other productive sectors inside these nations.
The agreement emphasizes collaborative efforts with international organizations to support initiatives and development programs in these less developed countries in order to achieve economic success and social growth. The agreement was signed by the fund's CEO, Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, and AIIB's deputy vice president for policies and strategies, Danny Alexander. The signing ceremony took held on the fringes of the AIIB's Board of Governors' annual conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The event serves as an opportunity to assess AIIB’s performance and gather insights from its shareholders regarding strategic direction and initiatives. Last month, the fund laid the foundation stone for the Mangoky Bridge in Madagascar, an island country on the southeastern coast of Africa. It contributed $20 million as a soft loan to the project, which connects the Atsimo-Andrefana and Menabe regions — home to Madagascar’s most vital agricultural and tourism assets, as per arabnews.
The bridge is projected to dramatically shorten travel time between these locations, allowing local farmers' products to reach the market more quickly. The fund has provided $69 million in loans to finance six development projects in Madagascar. Since its inception in 1974, the fund has funded over 700 development projects and initiatives in more than 90 poor countries, totaling more than $18.7 billion.