Jeddah, KSA, 02.02.2013 – At a meeting with Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, Chairman, IDB Group, Dr. Nabil Al Jab’ari,, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Al Khalil University, Palestine, expressed appreciation over the assistance IDB has been extending to Palestine, especially in the education sector. During the meeting, Dr. Ali emphasized the continued commitment of the IDB Group to support development in Palestine. So far, the IDB has granted 200 scholarships to Palestinian university students of
whom 143 have graduated in medicine, pharmacology and engineering.
The Al Khalil University, established in 1971, has a student capacity of around 7000 in various fields of study such as Shari’ah, Arabic language, pharmacology, nursing, and agriculture. According to Dr. Al Jaba’ri, the university is currently considering expansion to provide higher education to more Palestinian youth.
Since its establishment in 1975, IDB has approved around US$ 100 million for development projects in Palestine mainly in the sectors of education, agriculture, water supplies and health, energy and roads. The Al Aqsa Fund, managed by the IDB has financed around US$ 740 million to cover infrastructure, health and economic empowerment programs in accordance with the decision of the Emergency Arab Summit in Cairo during October 2000. The IDB also manages the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Program
for the Reconstruction of Gaza under which nearly US$ 400 million have been approved for various projects.