The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki has inaugurated a project to provide solar energy for 1,240 schools, benefitting more than 135,000 students annually. The project is funded by a grant from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). It comes within the framework of supporting development projects in the education sector. The project also comes in cooperation with the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office and under the supervision of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Through implementing the project, the Kingdom of Saudi contributes to achieving the fourth and seventh goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These two goals are mainly on the quality of education and providing affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The project worked on installing solar energy systems, to provide clean, sustainable and renewable electricity in seven hard-to-reach areas in the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The project reiterates the Saudi government's keenness to achieve cooperation and solidarity between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as the project will have an impact on developing the educational level in the country that would eventually contribute to raising the standard of living of the Pakistani people. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the SFD, provided three grants with a total amount of more than USD 333 million to contribute to the implementation of 23 projects. As many as 13 of these projects have been completed, while the other 10 projects are still in progress. The Fund also provided 21 development loans, with a total amount of about USD 1.2 billion. 12 projects have been completed, while nine are under implementation. The Saudi Fund for Development is one of the largest active entities in providing sustainable development assistance. Established in 1975, the SFD has contributed to achieving stability and prosperity for many developing countries, as this is in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 regarding achieving prosperity and providing social and economic support for developing countries.
