14 December 2009
TUNIS -- President of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND) Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz said Monday the ongoing 30th Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would yield key economic, monetary and cultural decisions.
"The expected outcome of the summit, which kicked off earlier in the day in Kuwait, will strengthen the integration process among the six GCC members and serve the interests of the Arab countries at large," Prince Talal told KUNA during a press conference on the sidelines of his current visit to Tunisia.
"The agenda items of the two-day event include the GCC monetary union, the draft cultural strategy, the regional power grid hookup, and the railway network," he pointed out.
"These ambitious projects will be pivotal to the socio-economic development of the GCC countries as well as the other Arab countries," Prince Talal affirmed.
"The Arab League has been calling for social, economic and monetary integration among the Arab countries a long time ago; the GCC projects serve this target," he went on to say.
Dealing with another topic, Prince Talal lambasted the outcome of the last month referendum in Switzerland on ban on mosque minarets.
"With due respect for Switzerland's democratic institutions which is a stated fact, we see in the vote on the ban an aspect of racism and remnants of the historical standoff between the West and the Orient in the 19th century," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, he urged integrating the Muslim communities into the societies of the Western countries they live in in order to promote coexistence and understanding among nations with different cultures.
Asked about the ongoing fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels, Prince Talal, a Saudi national, said the GCC countries backed the stance of his country in defending its borders against terrorist infiltrators from the southwestern neighbor.
During his stay here, the AGFUND chief is scheduled to preside over the meeting of the board of trustees of the Center for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR), an independent regional institution promoting gender equality in the Arab World through research, training, networking and advocacy.
The meeting will be attended by representatives of the Tunisian government, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Arab League and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a global service provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
AGFUND) is a non-profit regional organization, founded in 1980, upon the initiative of His Royal Highness Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and with the generous support of leaders of the GCC states. It aims to support human development efforts, including fighting poverty, promoting education, improving health standards, supporting institutional structures and the training of personnel, as well as all development efforts geared toward the neediest groups in developing countries, especially women and children.
TUNIS -- President of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND) Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz said Monday the ongoing 30th Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would yield key economic, monetary and cultural decisions.
"The expected outcome of the summit, which kicked off earlier in the day in Kuwait, will strengthen the integration process among the six GCC members and serve the interests of the Arab countries at large," Prince Talal told KUNA during a press conference on the sidelines of his current visit to Tunisia.
"The agenda items of the two-day event include the GCC monetary union, the draft cultural strategy, the regional power grid hookup, and the railway network," he pointed out.
"These ambitious projects will be pivotal to the socio-economic development of the GCC countries as well as the other Arab countries," Prince Talal affirmed.
"The Arab League has been calling for social, economic and monetary integration among the Arab countries a long time ago; the GCC projects serve this target," he went on to say.
Dealing with another topic, Prince Talal lambasted the outcome of the last month referendum in Switzerland on ban on mosque minarets.
"With due respect for Switzerland's democratic institutions which is a stated fact, we see in the vote on the ban an aspect of racism and remnants of the historical standoff between the West and the Orient in the 19th century," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, he urged integrating the Muslim communities into the societies of the Western countries they live in in order to promote coexistence and understanding among nations with different cultures.
Asked about the ongoing fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels, Prince Talal, a Saudi national, said the GCC countries backed the stance of his country in defending its borders against terrorist infiltrators from the southwestern neighbor.
During his stay here, the AGFUND chief is scheduled to preside over the meeting of the board of trustees of the Center for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR), an independent regional institution promoting gender equality in the Arab World through research, training, networking and advocacy.
The meeting will be attended by representatives of the Tunisian government, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Arab League and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a global service provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
AGFUND) is a non-profit regional organization, founded in 1980, upon the initiative of His Royal Highness Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and with the generous support of leaders of the GCC states. It aims to support human development efforts, including fighting poverty, promoting education, improving health standards, supporting institutional structures and the training of personnel, as well as all development efforts geared toward the neediest groups in developing countries, especially women and children.
© KUNA (Kuwait News Agency) 2009
