On Thursday, 13/12/2018, Bank of Palestine signed an agreement with the Higher Council of Youth and Sports for sponsoring the Palestine International Marathon 2019, which will be held in March 2019 with the participation of over 7,000 runners and athletes, among which 1,500 are foreigners. The signing ceremony was held at Bank of Palestine’s headquarters in Ramallah, whereby the agreement was signed between Mr. Rushdi Ghalayinin, the General Manager of Bank of Palestine, and Mr. Issam Qaddumi, the Secretary General of the Higher Council of Youth and Sports, in the presence of Ms. Etidal Ismail, the Director of the Marathon, and representatives from Bank of Palestine.
Mr. Rushdi Ghalayini, the General Manager of Bank of Palestine, stressed the importance of the joint cooperation between Bank of Palestine and the Higher Council of Youth and Sports in making this sports event a successful one. He expressed his pride in sponsoring such a huge and important marathon that is held on an annual basis, and features thousands of runners and athletes from all over Palestine, in addition to runners from different parts of the world. Ghalayini added that this is the fourth year for the bank to sponsor the Marathon, stemming from its belief in the importance of such an event in promoting the civilization, humanity and sport spirit of Palestine. It is also part of its efforts in the field of corporate social responsibility to allocate approximately 5% of its annual assets to support developmental projects, including sports.
Al Qaddumi expressed his appreciation of the efforts conducted by the Bank in support of various national projects, events and activities, including sports, and this Marathon in particular. He stressed the importance of the Marathon as a unique national event that transmits national and sports-related denotations. Al Qaddumi added that “this year, the participation of women will exceed 50%, and the considerable participation of foreigners is of utter importance since it allows them to witness the circumstances under which Palestinian live and become ambassadors for peace from Palestine to the rest of the world.”
Ms. Etidal Ismail, the Director of the Marathon, talked about the ongoing preparations for implementing an ideal marathon, praising the role played by Bank of Palestine in sponsoring the Marathon for four consecutive years, and the exceptional participation of its employees, whereby approximately 100 Bank of Palestine employees are expected to participate in the upcoming Marathon.