PESHAWAR: A Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) delegation visited Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday to review their ongoing agriculture, medical and educational projects in the area, the KP government’s disaster management authority said. 
KP’s Malakand Division is known for its picturesque Swat Valley and popular tourist destinations. It has navigated a turbulent path due to militancy and conflict in recent years, coupled with the devastating effects of natural disasters like floods. 
The SFD has provided financial assistance to Pakistan and funded development projects in various parts of the country. It has already done significant work to rehabilitate infrastructure in Malakand to improve people’s access to socioeconomic services and civic amenities.
“Today a Saudi delegation led by Director of Central Asia Operations Muhammed Almasoud visited Swat and reviewed three key ongoing projects,” the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) KP said in a statement.

“The Saudi delegation expressed deep satisfaction with the construction work and instructed the timely completion of the projects.”
These projects include an Agriculture Research Institute, a Veterinary Research Center, a Category D Hospital, a Thalassemia Center in Battagram, and a Special Children’s School in Swat with a total cost of approximately $4.6 million, the statement said. 

“Additionally, the construction of the 82-kilometer road from Chakdara to Fatehpur has been completed at a cost of Rs3.4 billion [$12.2 million] which is a significant development milestone for the area,” the KP PDMA said. 
Pakistan has sought closer economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in recent months, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly stating his desire to collaborate with the Kingdom in trade, defense, economy, agriculture, tourism, energy, mining and minerals. 

In October last year, businesses in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed several agreements to the tune of $2.8 billion to promote bilateral trade and investment with each other. 
Last year in April, the Kingdom also pledged to expedite a $5 billion investment portfolio for Islamabad, further boosting foreign investment prospects in the country.