The Board of Directors of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) expressed its thanks and gratitude to the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for nominating HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal bin Abdulaziz as the President of AGFUND to replace the Late Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal expressed his thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Countries for this trust, wishing that he would translate such trust into continuous development efforts.

This was stated during the 21st meeting of AGFUND’s Board of Directors held on Monday, October 5, 2020.

AGFUND’s achievements until August 2020 and performance during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) were presented during the meeting. Besides, the board commended the results achieved, responsiveness, innovation of new means to communicate with the partners and the target segments, and global and regional initiatives adopted by AGFUND’s financial inclusion banks despite the implications of the pandemic. Moreover, the board praised the emergency plan prepared by AGFUND banks to deal with the developments of the pandemic in general and support the smallholder farmers in particular.

In addition, the board reviewed the latest developments of Prince Talal International Prize for Human Development and the nomination process on the theme of “Zero Hunger”, the second goal of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the goal that has been affected mostly by the pandemic according to the progress report on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Furthermore, the board has approved the proposed projects for the current cycle to contribute to the development programmes that are in compliance with the 2030 Agenda and meet AGFUND’s goals and its financing standards and benefit, taking into consideration the extent to which such projects can alleviate the impact of COVID-19. It is worth mentioning that the support of such projects is directed toward 23 countries.