The Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) and several other organizations plan to launch leadership, empowerment and poverty eradication training for 100,000 male and female Arab youth.

The alliance comprises the AGFUND, Arab Open University (AOU), AGFUND Microfinance Banks and the International Youth Federation (IYF), a statement said Thursday.

The AGFUND board of directors discussed the first stage of the project on Wednesday at its headquarters here, including support for the AGFUND entrepreneurship center at the AOU's Lebanon branch.

The ambitious project is part of an initiative by AGFUND President Prince Talal to combat poverty. The board's eighth meeting was chaired on behalf of Prince Talal by Youssef bin Ibrahim Al-Bassam, vice president, representative of Saudi Arabia at the AGFUND, and head of the Saudi Fund for Development.

During their meeting, the board approved a $1.2 million budget to support and finance new development projects. The board members also reviewed the organization’s achievements in 2013 and considered funding for various other projects before the end of this year. Funding for 11 development projects was approved including the AGFUND administrative and awards budgets for 2014.

The board approved funding for various nongovernmental organization projects, including the Arab Women’s Center for Training and Research. It also approved projects to protect the rights of people with disabilities in the Arab world.

Other projects cover youth development in Kuwait and Yemen, integrating street children in society through education in Egypt, serving those who suffer from hearing and visual impairment in Palestine and Bahrain, enhancing the immunization programs through training in Zimbabwe, and fighting river blindness in Côte d'Ivoire.

The projects are for various regional and international bodies including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, Helen Care International and the Arab Organization for the Disabled.