Saudi Arabia has pledged funding for 35 development projects, including the construction of 100 schools, in Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Saudi Arabian embassy in Kabul. Work on these projects will begin in the near future, the embassy said.

The pledge has been made by Jassim Alkhaldi, ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Kabul, in a meeting with Afghanistan's Senate Speaker Fazl Hadi Muslimyar.

The construction of an international Islamic university in Nangarhar, a $30 million investment for the construction of a hospital in Kabul and $200 million of Saudi royal assistance to Afghanistan’s health sector are other commitments made by Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan, according to the embassy.

The Afghan government welcomed the pledge by Saudi Arabia, calling it one of the "good partners of Afghanistan."

“It includes the construction of a 100-bed hospital and an Islamic university in Nangarhar,” presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told reporters in Kabul on Monday, referring to the assistance by Saudi Arabia.

The aid package by Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest pledges made by Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan in recent years.

“Saudi Arabia is one of the allies of the people and the government of Afghanistan that has assisted us with hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years,” said Shamroz Khan Masjidi, a spokesman for Ministry of Finance.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/saudi-arabia-pledges-build-100-schools-afghanistan