Interacting in a programme organised by the women’s wing of FICCI, FICCI-FLO, HE Ambassador of the UAE to Indian, Dr Ahmed Albanna, discussed the initiatives taken by UAE government in the field of women empowerment and entrepreneurship.

He said that the progress in the area of women’s rights is essential to building a contemporary society based on tolerance and inclusion.

He shared that the UAE has adopted a powerful stance in empowering women, setting new standards based on a unique model drawn from the vision of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the UAE. This approach perpetuates in the current leadership’s vision for the future, whereby women stand as active partners and contributors in the country’s development process and play a vital role in raising future generations.

Ambassador Albanna said that the status of women in the UAE has flourished parallelly with the country’s growth since the federation was established in 1971. It is evident across the UAE that women today constitute a vital part of the UAE’s workforce and actively contribute to the country’s growth and development.

He informed that women in the diplomatic services and higher posts of government amount to 30 per cent of the UAE’s civil service including diplomatic postings abroad, and a total of 66 per cent of the government sector is represented by women.

Talking about education, he added, female literacy rate of UAE is 97 per cent. The UAE had the highest number of women on Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen in 2020 with 23 Emirati women on the list.

The meeting explored mutually beneficial synergies which could be formed between UAE and India in the realm of ‘women empowerment’.