Birzeit University mourns its friend and benefactor Omar Aggad

Birzeit University, represented by its Board of Trustees, president, administration, staff, and students, mourns the Palestinian businessman and honorary member of its Board of Trustees, Omar Aggad, who passed away, February 1, 2018, in Canada.

Birzeit University’s Chair of the Board of Trustees Dr. Hanna Nasir said that Aggad’s death is a “great loss for Palestine, especially Birzeit University.” Aggad funded the establishment of the Omar Aggad Engineering Building in 1984, which measures 12,500 square meters in size, and comprises the Engineering Faculty departments, workshops, and labs.

Aggad also funded the establishment of the 1790-square-meter Engineering Workshops Building, the first floor of which was completed in 1984, and the second floor was completed in 1995.

Birzeit University conferred an honorary degree in economics on Aggad due to his outstanding efforts in the economic development of Palestine and the Arab world.

Omar Aggad was born in Jaffa in 1927 and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical and mechanical engineering from the University of Manchester in the UK. He is the founder of the Aggad Investment Company (AICO), which he established in Saudi Arabia in 1975, and the founder and former chairman of the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC), which he established in Palestine in 1994.

Aggad established and managed over 40 firms in Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and various other countries, and supervised and ran the operations of numerous international financial corporations in the Middle East, such as the Saudi British Bank and the Arab Palestinian Investment Company in Luxembourg and Switzerland.

APIC signed an MoU with Birzeit University on January 30, 2018, to install a solar power system on the roof of the Omar Aggad Engineering Building.

Our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the late Omar Aggad. May his soul rest in peace.