Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania receive Saudi Prince Talal Ben Abdul Aziz on Monday (Photo by Yousef Allan)
AMMAN (JT) — Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania on Monday received Saudi Prince Talal Ben Abdul Aziz, president of the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organisations (AGFUND).
They voiced appreciation for the prince's role in serving the cause of development in Jordan, through AGFUND.
The pan-Arab organisation yesterday opened the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) in Amman, the first such institution AGFUND launches in the Arab world.
In addition to AGFUND, stakeholders include the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) and the private sector.
The King and Queen held a lunch banquet in honour of Prince Talal attended by KAFD Board of Trustees Chairman Faisal Fayez, his deputy Bassem Awadallah and Adviser to the Arab Open University Mohammad Hamdan.
According to the KAFD, AGFUND seeks to assist Arab countries in establishing their own microcredit organisations to finance projects for the needy, while ensuring sustainability of the beneficiaries' financial income.
NMB, previously known as Bank of the Poor, works to finance productive projects for underprivileged segments of the society, spread a culture of microcredit and carry out activities that are likely to serve its mission.
Queen Rania attended the opening ceremony, along with Prince Talal and Professor Mohammed Yunis, president of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank and a microcredit pioneer since the 1970s.
Fayez, Labour Minister Bassem Salem and senior officials also attended the ceremony.
The official inauguration was in parallel with the opening of two other NMB branches in Karak and Zarqa. The bank hopes to expand its network to 13 branches, covering all of the Kingdom's districts.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, the NMB signed an agreement with the Queen Rania Society for the Welfare of Servicemen and Families, under which it will provide eligible families with small loans to improve their living conditions.
Under the agreement, the bank will also train staff working for the organisation.
In his address at the ceremony, Prince Talal praised the flexibility in procedures to establish the bank, voicing hope that the bank would help Jordan achieve its development goals, including one to reduce poverty by 50 per cent by 2015.
NMB Manager Bassem Khanfar highlighted Queen Rania's efforts to enhance the microcredit culture in the Kingdom.
The Queen, who has played a key role in supporting microprojects in the Kingdom, was named UN Microcredit Ambassador last year. She is also a board member of FINCA, an international organisation that provides financial services to the world's poorest families so they can create their own jobs, raise household incomes and improve their standard of living.
In his address at the opening ceremony, Professor Younis outlined the experiences of Grameen, noting that most beneficiaries are women.
Meanwhile, NMB Chairman Fadi Ghandour presented plaques to the Queen and Prince Talal at yesterday's ceremony.
