Attending the event were Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran The Phuong, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy, Executive Director of Saudi Arabian Development Fund Sultan Al-Marshad, representatives of Vietnamese ministries, departments and agencies, and ambassadors, chargé d'affaires, and heads of representative offices of international organizations in Hanoi.
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| Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy delivered the opening speech at the event. (Photo: MA) |
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Vietnam Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy said that, established in 1974, the Saudi Arabian Development Fund (SFD) is a financial agency of the Saudi Arabian Government that plays an important role in providing funding for development projects in developing countries.
The Fund's mission is to support economic growth and social progress in those countries by leveraging the strengths of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and providing financial and technical resources for projects aimed at addressing the essential needs of the recipient populations.
The Ambassador said that to date, SFD has funded more than 800 development projects and programs in various fields in 100 countries. In addition to providing aid and loans to developing countries, SFD also contributes to international development organizations on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“What SFD brings has turned the challenges faced by the funded communities into opportunities, and given wings to their dreams of a more advanced living environment,” said Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A.Dahlwy.
Over the past five decades, SFD's activities have had a tremendous impact on different parts of the world, and its commitment to economic growth and social progress has also improved the lives of communities around the world, demonstrating the values of international cooperation and compassion.
According to Ambassador Mohammed Ismaeil A. Dahlwy, in Vietnam, SFD has provided preferential loans for 12 projects, from the construction and expansion of educational and medical facilities to the construction of traffic routes and the renovation of infrastructure affected by natural disasters in rural areas. These contributions have demonstrated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's interest in the socio-economic development in Vietnam.
The Ambassador recalled the successful visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to Saudi Arabia during the ASEAN-GCC Summit last month and said that the close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Vietnam over the past 24 years has made important strides and is growing stronger, through enhanced cooperation in various fields and effective coordination at international forums.
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| Saudi Arabia Fund for Development Executive Director Sultan Al-Marshad speaks at the event. (Photo: MA) |
According to Saudi Arabia Development Fund Executive Director Sultan Al-Marshad, SFD's development projects focus on a variety of different fields, including education, healthcare, renewable energy, social infrastructure, agriculture, climate change, food security, etc.
In Vietnam, SFD has provided 12 loans totaling over US$164 million, he said. SFD’s development projects in Vietnam include the construction and expansion of hospitals, vocational training centers, and roads. SFD also finances infrastructure projects in flood-affected areas. These projects are positively impacting the lives of many people. One of the outstanding projects is the Bac Kan General Hospital and Medical Training Center project, which was funded by SFD in 2011 with the aim of improving health services in Bac Kan province and training human resources to reach world-class standards in the field of health care.
On this occasion, he also announced that SFD will officially inaugurate the Ha Nam Vocational College project, in which SFD contributed more than 9 million USD, on the same afternoon (November 6).
Expressing pride in cooperating with Vietnam to achieve long-term development goals, Mr. Sultan Al-Marshad wished to continue strengthening the cooperative relationship between the two sides in the field of development.
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| Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran The Phuong said that, unlike some large donors with large capital/project scale and complex multi-sector designs, projects borrowing capital from the Saudi Arabia Development Fund are small and medium-sized, with not too complex designs, single-sector, focusing on a number of specific fields. (Photo: MA) |
Speaking about SFD projects in Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran The Phuong said that since 2010, the Fund has provided more than 165 million USD for 12 projects for localities. Of which, 10 projects have been completed and put into use, 02 projects are being implemented: the Project "Upgrading infrastructure to serve agricultural development and climate change response in Cu Lao Tay area, Thanh Binh district, Dong Thap province" and the Project "Building inter-regional transport infrastructure to support socio-economic development in poor districts of Yen Bai province".
In recent times, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has closely coordinated with ministries, central and local agencies to select and complete investment procedures for projects, and send them to the Fund for consideration of funding. Of which, 03 projects are in the process of completing procedures, including the Project "Dak Nong Provincial Community College", the Project "Renovation and upgrading of Provincial Road 209, Cao Bang Province" and the Project "Renovation and upgrading of the planned section of National Highway 12D, Dien Bien Province".
Regarding the fields and locations of funding, the projects prioritized by the Fund are mainly focused on the fields of rural transport, health, irrigation, vocational training, climate change response... The areas are concentrated in localities with limited development conditions, remote areas or localities with underdeveloped economic conditions and infrastructure that need investment such as Dien Bien, Cao Bang, Yen Bai...
The Deputy Minister said that, unlike some large donors with large capital/project scale and complex multi-sector designs; projects borrowing capital from the Saudi Arabia Development Fund are small and medium-sized, with not too complex, single-sector designs, focusing on a number of specific fields. Therefore, the preparation and implementation of projects are also convenient and quick; the access of localities with budget difficulties and limited experience in project implementation directly contributes to hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and improving people's lives in localities.
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| Delegates attending the event. |
According to the Deputy Minister, in the context that the world is facing many challenges such as climate change and regional conflicts. Vietnam is a developing country, the economy is in the process of transformation, the scale is still modest but has a large openness, so it is easily affected by fluctuations in the world situation. However, Vietnam is entering a new stage of development with many opportunities and challenges. Vietnam is in the process of transforming its growth model towards improving competitiveness, participating in the global value chain, and at the same time, aiming to develop a green economy, digital economy, and circular economy.
The Deputy Minister said that to achieve the above goals, the support of international partners and organizations such as the Saudi Arabia Development Fund will play an important role.
The Deputy Minister also expressed that in 2024, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia will celebrate the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, an important milestone for the cooperation between the two countries. He believes that the Saudi Arabia Development Fund will continue to be a bridge between the relations between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia, towards new cooperation possibilities, in line with the priority areas of the two sides.
On the side of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Deputy Minister pledged to always accompany, support and coordinate with ministries, central and local agencies to resolve legal procedural problems, unblock valuable funding flows and implement projects funded by the Fund effectively and sustainably.
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| Vice Chairman of Hoa Binh Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Toan spoke at the event. (Photo: MA) |
On behalf of localities with projects funded by SDF, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province Nguyen Van Toan said that with the support of the Saudi Arabia Development Fund, Hoa Binh province has received an ODA loan to implement the project "Expansion of Hoa Binh Provincial General Hospital". The project has a total investment of 20.8 million USD, of which the ODA loan from the Saudi Arabia Development Fund is 10.5 million USD and Vietnam's counterpart fund is 10.3 million USD.
He said that the SFP capital has been invested by Hoa Binh province in really necessary items and has promoted very good investment efficiency. The completion of the project has directly increased the scale of the provincial General Hospital by about 35% (to 1000 beds), contributing significantly to the completion of facilities, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment of Hoa Binh provincial General Hospital in particular and of the health system of Hoa Binh province in general.
He expressed his gratitude to SFD experts and hoped for more cooperation in the future, contributing to strengthening the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
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| Guests at the event took a souvenir photo. (Photo: MA) |
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