Moroccan banking conglomerate Bank of Africa has teamed up with Bank of Palestine to boost economic co-operation.
The initiative aims to bolster sustainable development, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in Palestine and Morocco, the organisations said.
The partnership allows cross-participation, on a symbolic basis, through the acquisition of shares in the stock exchanges where these banking institutions are listed, they added.
Bank of Africa is listed on the Casablanca stock exchange, in Morocco, while Bank of Palestine is listed on the Palestine Exchange, in Nablus, in the Palestinian territories.
Under the agreement, Bank of Africa is expected to acquire shares equivalent to nearly 1.2 per cent of the Bank of Palestine's capital.
The organisations also agreed to develop banking co-operation, in particular, in trade finance and correspondent banking as well as to exchange their expertise in financing SMEs and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Beyond its financial, economic and cultural scope, it is an institutional act of solidarity and confidence in the future of Palestine as well as a contribution from Bank of Africa to forge a common economic destiny between the two nations,” said Othman Benjelloun, chairman of Bank of Africa.
With a presence in 32 countries, Bank of Africa is one of the main pan-African financial groups.
The partnership is in line with Bank of Palestine’s vision of regional expansion and its aim to attract institutional investors, chairman Hashim Shawa said.
Founded in 1960, Ramallah-based Bank of Palestine has a network of 103 branches and it serves more than 900,000 customers. With total assets of $7.1 billion, it is the first national bank among 13 financial institutions operating in Palestine.
It is one of the main leaders to SMEs and a leading contributor to financial inclusion.
The latest agreement revolves around economic promotion aimed at boosting "trade and investment flows between Morocco and Palestine, as well as cultural co-operation, in particular through the realisation of joint projects highlighting the historical ties", between two economies, the organisations said.
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When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Company%20Profile
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Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
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