Saudi Arabia continues inroads into Africa with Guinea water project

Saudi Arabia has announced another project on the African continent. 

The governmental Saudi Fund for Development signed a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Guinea's Ministry of Economy pertaining to an $8 million grant for a water project. The money will go toward drilling approximately 140 wells, some of which will be equipped with solar-powered water pumps. It will also fund water tanks. The purpose of the grant is to alleviate the effects of drought in rural parts of Guinea, according to a Sunday press release from the fund. 

Why it matters: Saudi entities have signed a flurry of economic and environmental projects in sub-Saharan Africa recently. The following are some of the notable projects from the last three months:

• The Saudi company ACWA Power signed a memorandum of understanding to build a water desalination plant in Senegal. 
• The Saudi Fund for Development signed in October an agreement to finance solar-powered public lights in the Central African Republic. 
• Saudi Arabia and South Africa signed $15 billion worth of agreements related to hydrogen power, mining, investment and more. 
• ACWA Power and South Africa signed a memorandum on a green hydrogen project. 

Know more: Africa is appealing from an investment point of view due to its natural resources and relative lack of development in parts. Saudi Arabia is not alone in this assessment. The Emirati renewable energy firm recently gave a presentation at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt about Africa’s potential to become a green hydrogen hub. 

One reason Saudi Arabia is so interested in Africa is that its main geopolitical foe, Iran, is also seeking better relations with African countries. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Mali and Tanzania in August in an effort to alleviate the effect of US sanctions on the Iranian economy.