After officially launching the Economic Empowerment Fund for the Palestinian People (EEFPP) under the leadership and direct direction of His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Nabil Ghalleb, Director of the Economic Empowerment Department, chaired the first meeting of the Administrative Committee of the EEFPP on Thursday, November 26, 2020. The meeting was held virtually, in the presence of all members of the Committee composed of Representatives from the Islamic Development Bank, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, the Palestinian Investment Fund, the Palestine Prosperity Fund for Development and Investment, and two external experts.

The EEFPP, which was established by the Islamic Development Bank with a capital of 500 million US dollars with a Board of Shareholders chaired by His Excellency the President of the Islamic Development Bank, is the first initiative of the Economic Empowerment Department in the Bank. The EEFPP will target to empower more than 300,000 Palestinian families during the next decade, and aims to improve the income and livelihood of 1.5 million Palestinian people in the occupied territories, integrate them into the local economy and enhance their resilience by investing in sustainable Economic Empowerment projects in partnership with the private sector in Palestine.

It is worth noting that among the main contributors to this fund are the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) with an amount of 52 million US Dollars (including a grant of 2 million US Dollars), and the Palestine Prosperity Fund for Development and Investment (IZDEHAR) with a contribution of 30 million US Dollars and the Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF) with a contribution of 25 million US Dollars.

The Committee took during its meeting a set of important practical decisions that will contribute to the speedy implementation of the plan set by the Fund to start mapping investment opportunities in Palestine that are compatible with the fund’s goals in empowering hundreds of thousands Palestinian youth and graduates.