GENEVA: The eighth forum of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) kicked off in Geneva under the patronage of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz, chairman of the Prince Talal International Prize. At its current session at the UN, the two-day forum will include an international symposium on “Empowering Women Through Financial Inclusion,” aimed at finding ways to achieve sustainable development goals by empowering women and making them a part of the formal economic system in their countries. The seminar will bring together experts and influential leaders from business, government, and civil society. The second day of the gathering will be devoted to the awards ceremony for the Prince Talal International Prize for Human Development, established in 1999 to help encourage developing countries to successfully reach sustainable development goals. The award for 2018, will focus on the first sustainable development goal of eradicating poverty and a prize of $1 million (SR3.75 million) will go to four innovative and outstanding projects.