Saudi Arabia has extended an SR 36 million credit line facility to Azerbaijan to help with infrastructure projects. A delegation from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will leave for the central Asian republic on Aug 19 to discuss the terms of the loan facility and sign an agreement to provide the funds.

Nagi Jabbarov, head of the economic section and third secretary at the embassy of Azerbaijan, said the SFD delegation led by its Director General Yusuf Al-Bassam will formalize the credit agreement during their visit to Baku, The Riyadh-based fund aims to support development projects abroad.

The credit will be for a period of 20 years initially. The funds made available by the SFD will be used for the construction of five schools for 1.280 children Baku. More than 200 schools have been built in this predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic over the past seven years using foreign grants and loans including Saudi assistance. Also, about 70 schools have been built on the Azeri lands liberated from Armenian occupation in the recent past.

This is, in addition to the SR 272 million funds available by the Jeddah-based Islamic development Bank (IDB) to support infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan.

The diplomat said a ministerial meeting would be held in Riyadh on Dec 1 to discuss means of boosting trade and investment links between the two countries, He said many Saudi businessmen shoed a keen interest to invest in Azerbaijan. ‘One Saudi entrepreneur has already invested in a major hotel project, and some others are investing in tourism projects’, he said.

A report published recently said Riyadh and Baku agreed to deploy Azeri workers including doctors and engineers in Saudi Arabia. A group of 63 Azeri doctors was recruited recently.