Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania on Tuesday received Saudi Prince Talal Ben Abdul Aziz, president of the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organization (AGFUND) and co-chair of the Arab Open University (AOU) board of trustees.

The King and Queen voiced appreciation for the prince's efforts in the fields of education and microfinance, especially his role in the establishment of the AOU and the efforts exerted by AGFUND, including the establishment of the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) in Amman in March.

The Queen, a co-chair of the board, attended the sixth meeting of AOU's board of trustees, which was presided over by Prince Talal.

Board members discussed progress made in accomplishing the university's strategy and goals set in its Future Vision Document, to be achieved by 2008.

The AOU, which started enrolling students in 2002, functions under the umbrella of AGFUND as a private pan-Arab institution of higher education. It has branches in Kuwait (where it is headquartered), Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The NMB, the first microfinance bank in the Middle East, finances projects for low-income individuals.

It joins a long list of microfinance organizations already operating in the country, which promote microfinance as a major instrument for combating poverty.