Saudi Crown Prince before Paris Summit: We Will Continue to Support Low-Income African Countries

Saudi Crown Prince before Paris Summit: We Will Continue to Support Low-Income African Countries

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, underlined on Tuesday the pioneering role played by the Kingdom in pushing forward development and investment in Africa.

In a speech delivered to the Summit on Financing African Economies in Paris, he underscored Saudi Arabia’s support for regional and international efforts, in cooperation with the African Union, to consolidate security and stability and resolve conflicts in Africa.

He stressed that Riyadh also supports international efforts to fight terrorism and extremism in the Sahel and Sahara regions.

African leaders and the heads of multilateral lenders met in Paris on Tuesday to find ways of financing African economies hurt by the pandemic and to discuss handling the continent's billions of dollars in debt.

The summit brought together some 30 African and European heads of state, as well as the heads of global financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.

Saudi Arabia will support African countries with investments and loans worth about $1 billion this year to help their economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Crown Prince Mohammed.

“The Saudi Development Fund will carry out future projects, loans and grants worth three billion riyals, or around $1 billion, in developing countries in Africa