Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth $400 million with Ukraine after the kingdom’s foreign minister made a surprise visit to Kyiv.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, was the highest-ranking Saudi official to visit Ukraine in 30 years.
Prince Faisal met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and signed $400 million of humanitarian aid to the country at the presidential residence. Saudi foreign minister also met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and the head of the Ukrainian president’s office Andriy Yermak.
Prince Faisal said the Kingdom was working with Ukraine to mitigate the economic effects of the conflict in the country.
The announcement of $400 million in energy, infrastructure, and financial assistance. The agreement includes a $100 million joint cooperation program to provide humanitarian aid to war-torn Ukraine.
The MoU pledged that the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will finance Ukraine’s oil derivatives worth $300 million. The oil derivatives accord was signed by the Saudi fund’s CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, and Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko.
The aid package was first announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in October 2022 after his phone call with the Ukrainian president
White House lauds plan to send $400M aid to Ukraine
The White House lauded Saudi Arabia’s pledge to send $400 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, calling the commitment “an important one” a year after Russia launched its invasion.
“We are glad to see it,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council. “We have been for the last year asking all partners to do what they can to support Ukraine, and so we welcome the visit,” Kirby said.