RIYADH: Affirming its commitment to the global fraternity, the Saudi Fund for Development has laid the foundation stone to kick off the construction of the Mangoky Bridge in Madagascar, an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. The SFD has contributed $20 million as a soft loan to the project, alongside contributions from institutions and development funds in the Arab Coordination Group and the government of Madagascar, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The Mangoky Bridge will connect the Atsimo-Andrefana and Menabe regions, home to Madagascar’s most vital agricultural and tourism assets. The bridge is also expected to reduce the travel time between these two regions, thus helping local farmers to get their products to the market much more quickly. Mohammed Al-Shammari, the SFD’s director general for Africa operations, laid the foundation stone in the presence of Andry Rajoelina, president of Madagascar. Several high-level officials, including Christian Ntsay, prime minister of Madagascar, were also present during the event. During his speech at the event, Rajoelina thanked the fund for contributing to constructing the 878-meter bridge and other development projects in his country. The fund has been contributing to developmental projects across the globe since its inception in 1974. The SPA report also noted that the fund had provided six loans to finance six development projects in Madagascar worth $69 million. In January, the fund signed a deal with Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Ministry to finance oil derivatives amounting to $1 billion. Saudi Arabia’s helping hand to Pakistan came when the Asian nation was battling a tough economic crisis amid dwindling forex reserves and a rapidly depreciating national currency. In the same month, the fund also forayed into Caribbean countries by signing an $80 million financing agreement for the University of the West Indies expansion project at Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda. The financing deal aimed to reach sustainable development goals in the Caribbean, promote scientific innovation and add additional educational facilities to the university.