Exclusively sponsored by the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank, "CAC Bank," the Arab Academy for Administrative, Financial, and Banking Sciences awarded the Scientific Research Prize for its first edition of 2024, today, Thursday morning. The event took place under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Khaled Ahmed Al-Wasabi, the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, Vocational Education, and Training, in a distinguished ceremony.

The prize, which carried the slogan "Scientific Research: A Cornerstone for Achieving Development," aimed to encourage outstanding scientific research in the fields of economics, finance, and banking, as well as to promote innovation and creativity among researchers in these vital fields.

The Scientific Research Prize seeks to support sustainable economic development by connecting academic circles with both the private and public sectors, emphasizing the importance of scientific research in addressing contemporary economic challenges.

In his speech during the ceremony, Minister Al-Wasabi stressed the importance of this prize in motivating scientific research and its prominent role in achieving sustainable development and economic prosperity. He also commended the role of CAC Bank in supporting and promoting this initiative, in partnership with the Arab Academy for Administrative, Financial, and Banking Sciences.

During the ceremony, the Arab Academy honored the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors and the CEO of the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank, Mr. Hashid Al-Hamdani, with a commemorative shield, which was received on his behalf by the Executive Vice President of the Banking Operations Sector, Mr. Rafiq Al-Qabati. Mr. Al-Qabati emphasized that CAC Bank’s sponsorship of the prize was not just a social commitment but an investment in a better future for the country.

He added that this sponsorship stems from the bank’s commitment to fostering innovation and knowledge as the foundation for achieving sustainable development. Therefore, CAC Bank has made efforts to support innovative researchers through enhancing partnerships between higher education institutions and the public and private sectors in scientific research, raising awareness of the importance of scientific research in economic and social development.

At the end of the ceremony, the names of the top three winning researchers were announced as follows:

1. First place: Abdullah Ahmed Hamoud Al-Awlaqi, for his research titled "Analysis of the Determinants and Outcomes of Banks Adopting Financial Technology Innovations."


2. Second place: A shared award between Salah Abdu Mohammed Al-Hijri and Ghaleb Hamoud Sultan Al-Jaafari, for their research titled "Using Machine Learning Based on Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Google Bard Technology to Analyze Sentiments in Arabic to Assess User Satisfaction with Mobile Banking Apps."


3. Third place: Ibtihal Awad Ahmed Mahfouz, for her research titled "The Partnership Between the Public and Private Sectors and Its Role in Improving the Business Environment for the Private Sector in Yemen."