Chairwoman Jonian, Successful Women of IBWG, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am delighted to be here at the 30th Anniversary celebrations of the International Business Women’s Group in Abu Dhabi. You certainly have a success story to tell. And your stories are a vital part of the UAE’s story of success. In the United Arab Emirates, we have always been proud of the pioneering women in our society. You are a group of those pioneers. You have demonstrated that the full and unhindered contributions of women are essential to the success
and prosperity of our country.
The term International in the name of your group has important meanings for us in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates. We are pleased and proud that ours is a country that welcomes people from all parts of the world. We appreciate the diversity of talents, interests, and points of view that make our community a vibrant place to live and work.
As an international group, you may have experienced how living outside one’s own country always provides challenges, even when those challenges are welcomed and invigorating. For thirty years, your group has demonstrated, in facing those challenges, that our shared beliefs, values, and ideas can bind us closer together, across borders, nationalities, and cultures. You have shown that by thinking and working together in peace and harmony we can move toward mutual trust and acceptance and nurture the values of tolerance, human fraternity, and global understanding. Your group serves as an important bridge of cooperation, dialogue, and goodwill, and you are to be congratulated for your commitment, hard work, and success.
You are also a women’s group –– and for women, there are often special challenges to be successful in this world. Yet, women’s capacity to be agents of change locally and globally is larger than ever and continues to grow. Your group has clearly enriched the lives of its members as well as the life of Abu Dhabi itself. You have found connections and activities to help you in making important contributions to improving the quality of life for everyone, female and male alike. As Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, I recognize that women’s engagement and participation are crucial in enabling our country to build a model of tolerance, coexistence, and prosperity that is an example to the entire world.
This evening, we celebrate your group as a positive force for women’s engagement and women’s empowerment. In this celebration, we express our pride that the President, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is an outspoken advocate for the empowerment and advancement of women. With his leadership and guidance, there is a great conviction in our country that women’s empowerment and advancement are essential for building our strength as a nation. Women in the country have responded to the President’s vision with vigorous ambition, dedication, and initiative. Their efforts command respect, pride, and admiration. I thank you all at IBWG for being an important part of this noble and important endeavor.
My Dear Friends:
When we speak of women as pioneers in our society, our thoughts naturally must include the achievements of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation. Sheikha Fatima has always acted on the conviction that communities will best succeed when the women of those communities are employing their knowledge, skills, insights, and energy in the professions, in business, in the arts, in industry, in education, in science and technology—in short, in every human endeavor to include the raising of children jointly with their spouse. Her Highness knows that the world cannot thrive without the leadership and contributions of women. I congratulate all of you at IBWG for your efforts in helping to achieve Her Highness’s vision for women’s empowerment and advancement in our country.
And last but certainly not least, you are a business group. Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates are highly supportive of your work in business and other economic pursuits. We are committed to creating a knowledge-based economy and society, to boosting creativity and innovation, to developing our human resources and providing all women and men in our country with every opportunity to succeed. A knowledge economy and a knowledge society were important goals of our nation’s founder the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. And they remain fundamental goals of our President, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, as we continue to move forward with great success to make the UAE a major regional hub in the global economy. Thank you for your success in promoting women’s businesses in Abu Dhabi and in enhancing their role in building a durable and sustained Knowledge economy and society. The United Arab Emirates cherishes your example and your initiatives.
I hope that you will take great pride in your achievements over the past thirty years. I wish you every success in your important work in the next thirty years and beyond. The well-being of our society depends on the contributions of all who live and work in our country. Thank you for helping to move us all toward that end, especially as your group has both women and men in its membership.
Again, congratulations on thirty years of excellent work and best wishes to you all. Thank you.
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