DUBAI, 26th January / WAM / The Emirates Council for Gender Balance spoke today with the Women’s Forum in the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly to explore ways to expand cooperation.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean is an international organization that brings together parliaments from the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf region to discuss common challenges.
The meeting was attended by Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, Joanna Lima, President of the Women’s Forum in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, and Head of the Portuguese Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, Fatima Al Zahraa. Abdi, Vice-President of the Forum, Celine Cervi, from the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Parliament, and Maryam Majid Bin Thaniya, Member of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates and Vice-President of the Women’s Forum in the Mediterranean Parliament.
The renforcement of coopération avec the Forum of women of the Assembly parlementaire of the Méditerranée s’inscript in the cadre des efforts déployés by the Conseil for l’equilibre among the sexes of the EAU for étendre ses partenariats avec des institutions internationales influentes dans ce area. This decision also reflects the UAE leadership’s support for the Council’s goals of strengthening the role of women, preserving their achievements in various fields, and promoting gender balance regionally and globally.
The meeting was coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Federal National Council in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. A delegation from the Mediterranean Parliament is currently visiting the United Arab Emirates to attend the meeting of the Women’s Forum of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.
During the meeting, the delegation was briefed on the Council’s mission, which is to bridge the gender gap in various sectors in the country. The delegation was also briefed on the Council’s initiatives inspired by the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation. ), and the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, President of the Dubai Women’s Foundation, and the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister. and the Minister of the Presidential Court, who enabled the UAE to make rapid progress in the field of gender balance. The meeting also touched on the recent World Economic Forum’s selection of the UAE Gender Balance Council as a knowledge partner to promote gender balance at the global level.
In addition, the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss new possibilities for cooperation between the Council and the Forum to enhance the role of women in the political and parliamentary spheres. Al-Marri said that the Federal National Council of the UAE and the Parliament of the Mediterranean have established close cooperation that reflects the strong economic, cultural, political and trade relations between the UAE and the Mediterranean countries. She added that the UAE Federal National Council and the Women’s Forum in the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly have an opportunity to build on these links to promote gender balance at the regional and global levels.
Al-Marri stressed that the Gulf Cooperation Council and the forum have a common goal of promoting women’s participation and gender balance in politics, as part of their efforts to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
The meeting also discussed the achievements of Emirati women in various sectors, including their contributions in the political field. The discussions highlighted the emergence of the UAE as one of the leading countries in the world in terms of the proportion of female parliamentary representation, which was confirmed by the Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum for the years 2021 and 2022, and global competitiveness. A report issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, which ranked the UAE first in the world in terms of women’s representation in parliament in 2020 and 2021. Women make up 50% of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates and 27.5% of the total number of Members of the Federal National Council. UAE Cabinet. Al-Marri indicated that the strategic plans of the UAE give top priority to the equal participation of women in the development process in the country.
Translated by: Jihan Fawzi.
