Zambia And Saudi Arabia Reaffirm Ties As King Salman Hospital Nears Completion In Lusaka

LUSAKA — The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development hosted a reception in Lusaka to mark Saudi Arabia's National Day, with officials from both countries using the occasion to restate a partnership that stretches back to 1978. Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Nicholas Phiri told guests the relationship "has continued to grow and deliver meaningful cooperation" across health, agriculture, energy, mining, education, infrastructure and finance. He singled out the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Specialized Hospital, under construction in Lusaka, and support from the Saudi Fund for Development as the clearest examples of that cooperation, and passed on the Zambian government's congratulations to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Saudi Arabia's National Day, observed every 23 September, marks the 1932 unification of the kingdom under King Abdulaziz Al Saud. Saudi Ambassador to Zambia Ali Saad Alkahtani used his remarks to point to trade, investment, mining and renewable energy as areas for deeper cooperation, and welcomed the Saudi-Zambian Joint Business Council as a platform for private-sector ties. The reception drew government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and other guests. The King Salman Hospital is the one project on that list Zambians can actually check on. It is a fully Saudi-funded, 800-bed facility earmarked to specialise in maternal, neonatal and child healthcare, and to serve as a regional referral centre, not just a Lusaka one. The Saudi Fund for Development has put $135 million into the project after a $35 million top-up loan was signed in December 2024 specifically to get it finished. That top-up was needed because the hospital had already slipped past its original completion date. Nearly two years on, officials are again describing it as nearing completion. Zambians who have waited this long for a maternity and paediatric hospital of this scale are entitled to ask for an actual opening da