Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, president of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) announced here Tuesday the accession of Queen Sofía of Spain to the membership of the Committee of AGFUND International Prize for Pioneering Human Development Projects.

Queen Sofia, who is an erudite and highly influential development activist, was selected from a number of prominent figures nominated to represent the European continent in the Prize Committee. The queen, who is also a pediatrician, occupies a number of public positions namely, executive president of Queen Sofía Foundation, honorary president of the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons of Spain, as well as a post on the Spanish Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts. Queen Sofia has received a number of international awards in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cause of humanity.

In a statement, Prince Talal welcomed the accession of Queen Sofia to the membership of the Prize Committee, stating, “Her Majesty’s profound concern for sustainable human development and firm commitment to humanitarian and environmental issues, peaceful coexistence and promotion of understanding between civilizations, will significantly foster the objectives of the prize.”

Queen Sofia will represent the European continent in the AGFUND Prize Committee, which includes a number of prominent international figures representing the Arab region, the North and South Americas, Asia and Africa. They include Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, Signora Mercedes Menafra, honorary president of the All for Uruguay Organization, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and chairman of Yunus Center and Dr. Y. S. Abdulai, former director general of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPFID).

It is worth mentioning that the theme of the AGFUND Prize 2014 is “Marketing of homemade products” and the prize is worth $500,000. The prize comprises four categories: The first one is allocated for projects implemented by UN agencies and international and regional NGOs, the second is for projects implemented by national NGOs, the third for projects executed by government ministries and public agencies and the fourth category is for projects implemented by individuals. The deadline for receiving nominations will be until the end of May 2014.