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President Pervez Musharraf today inaugurated The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd. in the presence of His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam of the Ismaili Muslims and Chairman of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
The Bank, the country?s first private financial institution dedicated to addressing the problems of endemic poverty, starts out with a capital of Rs.500 million contributed by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development

In the desert, an oasis is akin to paradise and in the sands of Egypt, many of history's greatest gardens flowered on the banks of the Nile.But in Cairo, a city of 16 million people that has ballooned on the ruins of many Islamic dynasties from the 8th century Abbasid Caliphs to 19th century Ottomans, there has been, for several generations, barely a footprint of unbuilt open space for each of the city's inhabitants.

The Ismaelite Moslems Spiritual Leader, Prince Karim Agha Khan received here on Monday Aleppo Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Hassoun. Talks during the meeting dealt with the importance of unity of the Islamic work and with strengthening relations of cooperation with Agha Khan foundation in all fields. The Prince stressed his foundation readiness to widen the base of cooperation with cultural, intellectual and healthy establishments in Syria. Ghossoun /
Al-Abrash/ Meeting
Damascus, Feb. 16 (SANA)

President Bashar al-Assad received at al-Shaab Palace on Sunday Prince Karim Agha Khan, the Ismaelite Moslems Spiritual Leader.
Talks during the meeting dealt with stages of the projects which Agha Khan foundation implements in Syria and with the future developmental projects the Agha Khan network for developments intends to implement in Syria.

Ghossoun /

Agha Khan-Meetings

Damascus 15-02 (SANA)-

His Highness Prince Karim Agha Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismaelite Moslems, received the Minister of Education Dr. Ali Saad in his residence on Sunday evening.

His Highness the Aga Khan, the Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims and renowned philanthropist, will deliver the traditional Jacques de Larosière Lecture to conclude the 2003 Business Forum at the EBRD's Annual Meeting, to be held in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent 4-5 May.Through the Aga Khan Development Network, as well as philanthropy, the Aga Khan invests extensively in helping people to help themselves.

The IPI World Congress and 54th General Assembly will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21-24 May 2005 - the third time, after 1968 and 1981, that IPI will hold its annual general meeting in Kenya, and its fifth on the African continent.
The four-day event will discuss current issues related to the challenges facing Africa and the world, as well as topics dealing with press freedom and the communications industry. Sessions focusing on African topics include:

- 'Pluralism and Democracy - The African Experience'

- 'Africa's Development - Attracting Investment'

- 'Reporting on Africa'

His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of Shia Ismaili Muslims arrived in Damascus yesterday to start an official visit to Syria.
The Aga Khan will hold talks during his visit to Syria with the higher officials in the country. He will also review the current and future programs that the Aga Khan Development Network is doing in Syria. Talks will mainly focus on the initiatives that the AKDN has launched in Syria since the signing of the cooperation protocol between the government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Aga Khan Development Network 15 months ago.

Madame Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen I thank the Government of Norway and Minister Johnson for the invitation to speak here this morning and for her generous words of introduction. Madame Minister, the exchanges we have enjoyed since we met yesterday has been highly constructive. I am particularly honoured to be speaking at the Nobel Institute, respected worldwide for its promotion and recognition of exceptional endeavours to reduce human conflict.

His Highness the Aga Khan is on a two day visit to Norway. The aim is to strengthen the development co-operation between Norway and the Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan and Afghanistan.The visit is hosted by International Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson.

His Highness the Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims and the founder of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of agencies working to improve living conditions in some of the poorest areas of Africa and Asia.

For the first time in its 36 years, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be dedicated to a single subject: an exploration of the ancient Silk Road, the trade route that linked Asia and Europe, and its influence of its cultures on American life today.From June 26 to 30 and July 3 to 7, visitors to the National Mall can tour a range of exhibits focused on the cultures that flourished along the road from the time of Alexander the Great until the 14th century A.D.

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, who nursed her mother, actress Rita Hayworth, until her death from Alzheimer's disease in 1987, said she worries she will get the illness and, if she does, wants to have the choice of ending her life. She credits her harmonious relationship with her mother with her ability to support her throughout her illness, the Boston Sunday Globe reported. "Before she was sick, it was always possible to talk to my mother,' Ms. Khan told the newspaper. "What bonded us is that we could always talk openly about our feelings for one another.' Ms.

Shortly before his death in 1957, Sultan Mohamed Shah Agha Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect of Islam, chose as his resting place a solitary sand dune on the West Bank of the Nile at Aswan. Princess Yvonne Agha Khan, known as the Begum, a French national and the Sultan`s third wife, has cared for this tomb ever since, staying at their house nearby for six months of the year and spending the summer at their villa in Cannes.

While attending the Berlin International Conference for Afghanistan, Minister Carroll met with the Aga Khan, Head of the Aga Khan Development Network. CIDA and the Aga Khan Foundation are partners in a variety of projects in Asia and Africa.

Une nouvelle compagnie aérienne est née au Mali. Fruit d'un partenariat entre le gouvernement du Mali et le Fonds Aga Khan pour le développement économique, cette compagnie renforcera le secteur du transport aérien commercial en Afrique de l'Ouest.

His Highness the Aga Khan today announced the expansion of a new generation of financial products and services to help some of the world's most vulnerable populations. The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM), a new institution created specifically for this purpose, will deliver innovative services including micro-insurance, small housing loans, savings, education and health accounts, and support for small entrepreneurs seeking to develop businesses related to restored cultural assets. The Agency will be part of the Aga Khan Development Network.

His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims, today joined President Mkapa of Tanzania in laying the foundation stone for the construction of a new Aga Khan Academy in Dar es Salaam.The Academy will be a residential school offering pre-primary to higher secondary education benchmarked against world-class standards. A scholarship programme will support entry by top-ranked students of limited means.

Mkapa azindua ujenzi wa kituo cha Aga Khan
Baadhi ya wakazi wa Jiji la Dar es Salaam wenye asili ya Asia, wakimsikiliza Rais Benjamin Mkapa na Mgeni wake Aga Khan wakitoa hotuba wakati wa uwekaji wa jiwe la msingi wa Ujenzi wa Shule ya wenye vipaji maalum ya Aga Khan Academy Tanzania.

Rais Benjamin Mkapa amezishukuru taasisi binafsi zikiwemo za dini zinazochangia huduma za kijamii zikiwemo za elimu na afya kwa kuinua kiwango cha elimu nchini na kuliongezea taifa hazina ya vyuo vyenye ubora.

The chairman of the interim administration of Afghanistan, Esteemed Hamed Karzai, received today at the Gul Khana Palace Prince Karim Aga Khan [IV] and signed an agreement on expanding cooperation...
According to Bakhtar information agency, during the talks with Prince Karim Aga Khan in the Gul Khana Palace, the chairman of the interim administration of Afghanistan, Hamed Karzai, spoke on the programmes of the interim administration and drew the attention of Prince Aga Khan to possible areas of cooperation in the reconstruction programmes for Afghanistan.

His Highness the Aga Khan speaking with the First Lady of Egypt, Madame Mubarak, during the Al-Azhar Park inauguration ceremonies.The Park as a Catalyst for Social, Economic and Cultural Renewal

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

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