Saudi fund grants Cuba 40 mln USD in credit for water project

The Saudi Fund for Development Wednesday granted Cuba 40 million U.S. dollars in soft credit for a water project in the east Cuban city of Camaguey, the Havana-based Prensa Latina news service reported.

The money will go to rehabilitate the water supply network and sewage system in Camaguey, located about 500 km east of Havana.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca and Vice President and Executive Manager of the Saudi Fund, Yousef Ibrahim Al-Bassam, signed the agreement.

Malmierca pledged the funds would be used efficiently to improve the city's water infrastructure.

The agreement "represents a new step in bilateral relations and collaboration efforts between Cuba and Saudi Arabia," the news agency said.

Al-Bassam noted that it was the first agreement of its kind between the two countries, and Saudi Arabia was interested in boosting cooperation with Cuba at both government and private-sector levels, and in new investment opportunities for foreign capital.

"We are open to cooperation in every sector, fundamentally industry, tourism, agriculture and trade, the possibilities are promising," said Al-Bassam.

This is the third soft credit granted by Saudi Arabia to Cuba.

The island received credit to rehabilitate and equip a group of maternity hospitals in 2010, and the fund provided a 30 million-dollar loan to improve Havana's water supply and sewage system in 2013. Endi