JEDDAH, 27 October 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has donated SR100 million to support the Arab Open University (AOU), a private institution of higher education accredited to the UK Open University (UKOU), Prince Talal, chairman of the AOU’s board of trustees, announced yesterday.

Prince Talal, who is also chairman of AGFUND (the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations), said the money was donated for buildings at AOU’s various branches in the Middle East.

“This generous financial support from King Abdullah comes in line with his efforts to promote education,” the prince told the Saudi Press Agency. He thanked the king for supporting the university.

“This royal gesture will enable the AOU to carry out building projects for its branches and continue its mission of promoting education in Arab countries,” the prince said.

The AOU currently has six branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon. It intends to open one in Oman and another in the Saudi city of Madinah. More than 22,000 students are currently enrolled at the university, which is headquartered in Kuwait.

Muhammad ibn Ahmed Tayeb, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s office in the Makkah Region, commended King Abdullah for generously donating to the AOU and said it was in line with the Kingdom’s support for Arab projects. He said the royal gesture would not only promote Arab education but also strengthen Arab unity and solidarity.

The AOU, which was established in 2002, held its first graduation ceremony on March 5 this year at the Sheraton Hotel in Kuwait. As many as 526 students received degrees and diplomas from the faculties of language studies, education, business studies and computer studies.

Of 218 honors students, 177 were from Kuwait, 25 from Lebanon, 11 from Jordan, three from Saudi Arabia and two from Bahrain. Overall, 49 percent of current graduates are women and nearly 40 percent over the age of 24.

The AOU is closely associated with the UKOU, enabling students to graduate with both an Arab Open University degree and that of the UKOU — an internationally recognized UK degree.

The AOU recently received for the second time full accreditation and validation from the “Open University Validation Services” and is the first Arab university to obtain such status from a global organization.