JEDDAH, 18 March 2004 — Prince Talal, chairman of the Arab Gulf Program for the UN Development Organization, yesterday signed an agreement with Yemeni Minister of Social and Labor Affairs Abdul Kareem Al-Arhabi to establish the first Arab bank for the poor in Yemen. “In some Arab countries per capita income does not exceed a dollar and a half a day,” he said, emphasizing the need for a bank focused toward the poor. The Yemeni bank will open soon, he added. Prince Talal said that the Jordanian Parliament had also approved the bank.