Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, GWU, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, FDF and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, has called for further deepening the relations of mutual strategic cooperation, especially in the field of women's economic empowerment, by launching joint investment projects and implementing advanced projects to develop human resources, support women's capabilities, provide technical and practical training opportunities for women, and to create support for small and medium businesses on both sides to extend their productivity into foreign markets.

On the occasion of the opening of the Arab-Chinese Women's Forum at Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi, under the theme, "Women's Economic Empowerment", H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, patron of the forum, made the keynote address at the opening session.

H.H.'s speech follows, in full.

"Your Highness, my sisters, the first ladies of the People's Republic of China and our neighbouring Arab countries, Your Eminence, Ministers, my sisters, the representatives of UN Women and UN organisations involved in the issues of women and those of neighbouring fellow countries, Sisters and Brothers, leaders and pioneers of general women's work, ladies and gentlemen: Peace and God's Mercy and Blessings Be Upon you.

To begin, we would like first to welcome you, sisters and friends, guests of our beloved rising Emirates, and to express our gratitude and appreciation for your presence and participation in this important forum.

Your coming together here today in this significant gathering is a clear expression of your wish to move forward in paving the way for a journey of a long-standing history of relationships characterised by friendship, mutual trust, understanding, dialogue, communication, cultural exchange, human interaction, and an intermingling that has lasted many centuries between the Arab and the Chinese civilisations through the "Silk Route." We are now working together to build, revive this route as part of our developmental project.

We hope that this forum will play a major and essential part in enriching dialogue and deepening the understanding that has been achieved. We hope, as well, that it will benefit from the experiences and expertise exchanged between the Arab and Chinese women's associations, applying what has been learned from these exchanges in real life in all fields of development, especially, in the fields of social and economic development and women's economic empowerment.

Thus we invite you here to deepen further the relationships of mutual strategic cooperation, especially in the field of women's economic empowerment, by launching joint investment projects and implementing advanced projects to develop human resources, support women's capabilities, provide technical and practical training opportunities for women, and to create support for small and medium businesses on both sides to extend their productivity into foreign markets. This is in addition to the many opportunities already available for joint investment projects between businesswomen in China and the Arab world, especially businesswomen in the UAE who now run more than 20,000 local and international projects with investments of up to 45 billion Dirhams.

It is our good fortune that this forum is meeting today, coinciding with the 11th anniversary of the establishment of the "Chinese-Arab States Cooperation Forum" at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, as an expression of the deep historical relationships that have long brought China and the Arab states together. The forum has, as of today, held six consecutive sessions, which have positively contributed to Arab-Chinese relationships, advancing them on all levels, including political, economic, trade, investment, technological, scientific, health, agricultural, environmental, media, women's issues and all other fields.

This meeting also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic affairs between the UAE and the People's Republic of China, which have been cemented by the wise leaders of the two fellow nations, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, with their continuing interest in developing and enhancing these relations, making these two nations the strategic partners that they are today.

Women in the UAE have achieved many tangible gains and accomplishments on the level of political and economic empowerment, having gained their constitutional rights and total equality with men in rights and duties through the unwavering support of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. This has opened many horizons for women in political and economic life, women now occupy four seats in the cabinet and seven seats in the Federal National Council. They have a strong presence in government and in our diplomatic corps, occupying esteemed leadership positions in the state, as well as different positions involved with strategy planning and decision-making, and are integral partners in the process of sustainable development.

We have, in this context, accomplished most or all of the projects of the Millennium Development Goals, for which the target date is this year. Simultaneously, we have resumed our journey to achieve more accomplishments by announcing new initiatives to further develop the role of Emirati women as integral partners of the developmental process and empower them in every field.

In this regard, I would like to point to the initiative taken by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at the Government Summit on February 8th of this year, to form the Gender Balance Council to empower women and support their position as integral partners in creating the future.

On March 7th this year, the General Women's Union also launched the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Emirati Women in the UAE, 2015/2021, which provides a framework for all institutions of the government, private sector and civil society organisations to develop action plans and programmes to ensure a decent living for women, and to empower them to participate in all aspects of sustainable development.

In closing, we emphasise our support for this forum and for your proposals with regards to enabling mechanisms for joint efforts, especially pertaining to the establishment of an Arab-Chinese preferential trading area to encourage both sides to increase and expand the range of cooperation and partnership between small and medium businesses to serve shared interests and mutual benefits.

May Peace and God's Mercy and Blessings Be Upon You."

The speech was delivered on behalf of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak by Reem Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
Source: WAM