Prince Talal Ben Abdul Aziz, president of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development (AGFUND), on Monday, February 12, concluded a two-day working trip to Amman, following a joint decision by the government and AGFUND to conduct a pre-feasibility study and terms of reference for setting up a microfinance lending bank in Jordan.
Prince Talal, who had been invited to Jordan by Her Majesty Queen Rania to meet with representatives of national institutions dealing with development, education, microfinance, as well as children and family issues, also pledged to financially support the microfinance industry in Jordan, the National Teams for Early Childhood Development and Family Safety, as well as the Jordan River Foundation—causes and institutions championed by the Queen.
Prince Talal, whose foundation has had extensive experience in backing microfinance initiatives across the Arab World, met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Mohammad Halaiqa on Monday to discuss the means to further develop the industry in Jordan. During the meeting, Halaiqa pledged that the government would financially back the establishment of the microfinance lending bank, as well as the government's intention to issue a law to establish such an institution. Halaiqa also stressed that such a bank would work in tandem with other institutions in the country and would not create redundancies, adding that it would target the needy who are not served by traditional banks.
The prince's visit to Jordan and his meetings with Queen Rania, who has championed microfinance in Jordan and across the world as an effective tool to combat poverty and financially empower women, comes as a result product of a recent workshop organized by the Jordan River Foundation in which AGFUND officials met with representatives from Jordan's microfinance industry to compare experiences in this field. A consensus on the need for establishing a microfinance lending bank was reached during the workshop.
The government on Monday also announced that it would provide all the facilities — that are normally accorded to international and regional organizations—to the establishment of a Jordan branch of the Arab Open University, of which Prince Talal is chairman of the board of trustees. This university, which would offer a diploma in information technology, is in line with national aspirations as championed by His Majesty King Abdullah, the Queen said in a meeting with Prince Talal on Sunday.
Prince Talal's visit comes as a follow-up to a meeting with the Queen in Cairo in March 2000. Three months later, AGFUND representatives arrived in Amman for a meeting aimed at enhancing cooperation between the Queen's national initiatives and Prince Talal's organization, which deals with women and children's issues, microfinance, education, information technology, and research. Discussions during the meeting focused on the need to back the Arab Open University and Jordan's budding microfinance industry.
Prior to his departure on Monday, Prince Talal, who also heads the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, visited the Jordan River Foundation with the Queen and was briefed on the objectives and mission of the foundation.
Established in 1995 under the presidency of Queen Rania, the foundation aims to improve the livelihood of impoverished Jordanian families at the grassroots level through income generating projects and business development services programmes, which provide non-financial business training and follow-up counselling to micro and small enterprise owners. Among the foundation's income generating projects are the Jordan River Design Project and the Bani Hamida Weaving Project, and the Wadi Al Rayan Project. The projects provide women in rural communities the opportunity to empower themselves and the communities in which they live. In August 2000, the foundation inaugurated Dar Al Aman — the first child abuse prevention centre in the Arab World.
Following the briefing, Prince Talal pledged to support the foundation.
On Sunday, Prince Talal had met with Queen Rania and attended two working meetings with the National Team for Early Childhood Development and the National Team for Family Safety, which were established by the Queen and aim to empower existing governmental and non-governmental institutions, as well as experts from across the country concerned with family issues and children's welfare and development.
Prince Talal presented the National Team for Early Childhood Development, which was established in 1999, with the task of drawing up a national strategy to address the issue, with financial backing to direct a pilot project to develop pre-school education training and curriculum in the Kingdom, which would be implemented by the Ministry of Education.
The team recently finalized the draft national strategy document, after incorporating the suggestions of over 300 governmental and non-governmental institutions and experts from across the country. The prince was also briefed about the work of the National Team for Family Safety, which was established to tackle issues of family safety, especially those pertaining to the abuse of children. The team recently widened its scope of work to include matters relating to the safety of children in general, including issues such as child labor and drug abuse, among others. — ( Jordan Times )
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
