RIYADH: Vietnam’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung and CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad have praised progress on development projects in the Southeast Asian country. “SFD CEO Sultan Al-Marshad received the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam H.E Dang Xuan Dung & accompanying delegation. During their meeting, the development efforts & the progress of SFD’s development projects in #Vietnam were discussed,” the SFD tweeted after the meeting. The ambassador told Arab News on Wednesday: “The meeting was friendly and meaningful. It was a good chance for me to thank the SFD for support to Vietnam during the past 11 years that helped alleviate the hardships of people in remote areas in the country.” Dang praised Saudi Arabia’s support for the development projects, which contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals set up in 2015 by the UN General Assembly as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity.” The Saudi government, through the SFD, has provided development loans worth $179 million in education, transportation, health and infrastructure in Vietnam. Official development assistance began in 2011, and the SFD has been involved in 13 investment projects in the country, the envoy said. The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center sent $500,000 of medical aid and equipment to Vietnam last August to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.