By ; Basel Khaled
As part of an official Republic of Kyrgyzstan state visit to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Khalid Al-Khudairy Vice President and Managing Director for the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and Mrs. Baktygul Jeenbaeva, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan signed a new infrastructure loan agreement. SFD partnered with the Islamic Development Bank and the Kuwait Fund to contribute to the rehabilitation and improved construction of the 442 km long Lake Issykul Ring Road, which provides access from the Kyrgyz capital city of Bishkek to one of Central Asia’s prime tourism destinations. The second largest saline lake in the world after the Caspian Sea, Lake Issykul attracts millions of regional, international and local visitors per year. The road improvements will facilitate links to important transport networks into Russia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, opening the Issykul region to more regional visitors. ‘We seek to invest our experience and resources to help build better futures for countries we partner with. Our vision is based on the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 which works to diversity our economy and share our expertise with others while also contributing to projects that bring socio economic benefits and prosperity to communities,” said Dr. Al Khudiary. “The SFD and Government of Kyrgyzstan have a long history of working together to positively alter the social and economic landscape of this central Asian nation. The improvement of this important road network will assist in the commercial aspects of tourism development, and cross border transport of goods. On a micro level it will support the development of small to medium enterprise (SME) and jobs creation associated with tourism development,” he added. The SFD is a major contributor to sustainable development aid, promoting stability and prosperity to the central Asian region since 1975. The SFD has contributed over USD 170 million in financial and technical assistance to a total of eight development projects in Kyrgyzstan.
