President of AGFUND (Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations)
AGFUND was established in 1980 at the initiative of its current president, H.R.H. Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. A widely loved and popular personality, H.R.H. Prince Talal has played a key role in dealing with important development issues as health care, poverty and education, not just in the Arab countries, but around the globe.
AGFUND finances United Nations development projects worldwide and has up to 2008 granted support and funding to 1,179 projects implemented in cooperation with and participation of 20 UN, international and regional organizations, as well as 167 NGO’s and governmental institutions in 131 developing countries, amounting to a total of over US$ 280 million.
UNESCO-AGFUND cooperation
Through AGFUND’s support, UNESCO has been able to reach tens of thousands of poverty-stricken persons and has helped them to avoid the vicious circle that poverty and illiteracy represent. The fields of cooperation between UNESCO and AGFUND are both multifaceted and widespread.
AGFUND’s donation of more than US$ 25 million invested in 73 UNESCO projects, in Asia, Africa and Latin America, bears witness to the real impact that the fruitful collaboration between UNESCO and AGFUND has made on the daily life of the disadvantaged. In addition, a hallmark of our successful cooperation is the Arab Open University project, a pioneering undertaking designed to establish higher education centers for teachers and students throughout the Arab region.
