Arab National Bank, Madinah Academy Sign Deal to Set Up Smart Lab

The signing of the partnership agreement in Madinah (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The signing of the partnership agreement in Madinah (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Arab National Bank, Madinah Academy Sign Deal to Set Up Smart Lab

The signing of the partnership agreement in Madinah (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The signing of the partnership agreement in Madinah (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman, chairman of the Madac Academy board of trustees, signed on Wednesday a partnership agreement between the academy and the Arab National Bank (ANB).

Under the agreement, the bank will establish a smart laboratory at the academy equipped with the latest technical equipment, such as robots, artificial intelligence and augmented reality, to provide qualitative education to more than 1,000 students per year.

The agreement was signed between Prince Faisal and ANB’s Chairman, Salah Al-Rashed, in the presence of the bank’s CEO, Obeid Al-Rasheed, and Abdulrahman Alawi, the academy’s director.

Al-Rashed expressed appreciation for Prince Faisal for patronizing and supporting the partnership.

He said that the agreement reflects the bank’s concern to provide innovative initiatives and qualitative programs in the social responsibility milieu and contribute to supporting the efforts and activities aiming to improve the educational process - which is one of the main goals of Vision 2030.

For his part, Alawi thanked Prince Faisal for his support for Madac Academy as well as the ANB for the initiative, contributing to achieving the academy’s goals aiming to create a promising generation of creative and distinguished students.

Notably, Madac is a nonprofit project seeking to become a pioneer in improving children’s lives around the world. It also aims to build a future by establishing the best educational systems based on encouraging human knowledge, deepening the Qur’anic values and upgrading the educational process.



World Bank Redirects Funds Towards Lebanon Emergency Aid

Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
TT

World Bank Redirects Funds Towards Lebanon Emergency Aid

Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The World Bank announced on Thursday that it was redirecting funds originally earmarked for development programs in Lebanon towards emergency aid for people displaced by Israeli bombardment of the country.

"The World Bank is activating emergency response plans to be able to repurpose resources in the portfolio to respond to the urgent needs of people in Lebanon," said a statement from the US-based multilateral institution.

The multilateral institution currently has $1.5 billion in funding for programs in Lebanon. Part of this amount will be redirected.

Since September 23, more than 1,000 people have been killed in an Israeli air-and-ground campaign on Lebanon that has targeted armed group Hezbollah in the south and east of the country, with strikes expanding to include the capital Beirut.

Thousands have been displaced since the bombing began, and the funds would be used to provide aid to those populations, the World Bank said.

"This would include emergency support to displaced people that could be deployed through a digital platform the World Bank helped put in place during the Covid epidemic," the statement said.