Remarks by DAS Elizabeth Cheney
Delivered by Ambassador Wahba
First Economic Businesswomen’s Forum
Abu Dhabi, October 6, 2003
I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak today at the First Economic Businesswomen’s Forum. I am very sorry that I cannot join you in person, but welcome this opportunity to share some thoughts about the Middle East Partnership Initiative and its specific goal of empowering women in the Arab world. I would like to thank Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba for addressing you on my behalf.
Last year, President Bush and Secretary Powell launched the Middle East Partnership Initiative or MEPI. MEPI was founded to support regional economic, political, and educational reform efforts and champion opportunity for all people, especially women and youth. MEPI strives to link Arab, U.S., and global private sector businesses, civil society elements, and governments together to jointly achieve sustainable reform. As we all know, women – as mothers, wives, employees, and business owners – are integral to a country’s prosperity. In many cases, they are the lifeblood on which a country’s future is built and sustained. MEPI is attempting to work in partnership with Arab countries throughout the region to share experiences and expertise with women who are working to provide opportunities for an even brighter future to upcoming generations.
In the context of the Middle East, the UAE has made great strides in the empowerment of women. In the past 30 years, the women of UAE have become an integral part of their country’s workforce. Much of this success must be attributed to the hard work and clear vision set forth by Her Highness Shaykha Fatima bint Mubarak and His Highness President Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan. Their leadership has been imperative to the positive changes in the increase of business and education opportunities for women in the UAE.
However, they were not alone. Organizations like the General Women’s Union and the UAE Businesswomen’s Committee have worked diligently to prepare women for work outside of the home and help professional women maintain the delicate balance between work and family. I congratulate you on all of these accomplishments and assure you that MEPI is committed to partnering with women’s groups such as these in the UAE and throughout the region to further enhance business and educational opportunities for women.
MEPI’s women’s empowerment pillar strives to reduce barriers – cultural, legal, regulatory, economic, and political – to allow women’s full participation in society. Within this pillar, MEPI is concentrating on business development, political participation, and outreach for women. We’ve made important strides already. In the ten months since Secretary Powell launched MEPI, we have already demonstrated our commitment to the development and promotion of opportunities for women. For example, last May, MEPI sponsored the first annual Arab Women’s Forum in Cairo. The meeting brought together Arab women to highlight obstacles and establish programs in partnership with American NGOs. Since that Forum, MEPI has announced and begun work on the following programs:
First, MEPI and the Government of Jordan will host an Arab Women in the Law Workshop later this year in Amman. The workshop will bring Arab women judges, legal activists, and Islamic scholars together to discuss increasing women’s opportunities in the legal profession, the role of women in the law in Islam, and critical issues affecting women and youth in the legal system.
Secondly, the recent Arab-American Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in Detroit provided an opportunity to strongly deliver MEPI’s message of partnership to the Arab world and the Arab-American community. At the Forum, MEPI launched an Internship Program for Young Arab Women to come to the United States for substantive hands-on training in American businesses. We anticipate up to forty (40) young women coming in the first year (2004) to take advantage of opportunities made possible by American corporate entities.
These are just a very small sampling of some of the programs through which MEPI has begun to reach out to expand opportunities for women and to building bridges of understanding between the U.S. and the region. Through this First Economic Businesswomen’s Forum, I hope that you will explore other concrete ideas where MEPI can partner with you to effectively empower women, specifically in the business community. I applaud the efforts and results that the women of the UAE have made so far, and I encourage you to envision the progress we can make together in the future, as true partners.
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