The forum was organized under the sponsorship of the Ugandan government, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the African Union Development Agency, and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

Continuing its support for international cooperation, the SFD’s Eng. Azzam Al-Barrak participated in the first session of the forum titled: “The Global and Country Context of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for the implementation of Agenda 2063 and SDGs”. The session participants included representatives from international organizations and government entities.

During this session, Eng. Al-Barrak highlighted the role of SFD in supporting developing countries, stating that: “Since its establishment in 1975, the SFD has supported 46 African countries through financing more than 408 projects, with a value of USD 10.47 billion. This support represents about 60% of the total projects funded by the SFD in several sectors, including education, health, transportation and communications, agriculture, energy, and others.”

Eng. Al-Barrak further shed light on how SFD works in cooperation with international organizations in supporting development projects and highlighted the Fund’s implementation of the second phase of the first national program for water and sanitation project in Ethiopia. The project in Ethiopia seeks to increase and sustain sanitation services and provide clean water in rural and urban areas, in line with the sustainable development goals. The project will also serve more than 4 million beneficiaries.

As part of the session, Eng. Al-Barrak highlighted the positive impact of the Saudi Program for Drilling Wells and Rural Development in Africa, funded by a grant estimated at USD 330 million, offered by the Kingdom’s government, previously managed by the SFD. As part of the program, more than 4.5 million people in 13 countries benefited from this initiative, which included drilling and equipping 6,300 water facilities.

During the event, the SFD also participated in an exhibition held on the sideline of the forum to review its development activity spanning more than 48 years, Saudi Arabia’s role in supporting the countries of the South, and the impact of the projects financed by SFD in achieving the global sustainable development goals. Since its establishment in 1975, SFD has supported 697 projects and programs in 84 countries worldwide.

The South-South and Triangular Cooperation is a global platform showcasing sustainable development solutions to deal with the challenges facing development projects in several countries.