RIYADH, 22 March 2007 — The Hong Kong Federation of Women (HKFW) concluded a four-day visit to the Kingdom here yesterday. The 22 delegates arrived in the Kingdom by an invitation from the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal, Effat College.
The group consisted of female entrepreneurs, professionals, scholars and bankers. The delegation was led by Peggy Lam, chairperson of the HKFW and Pansy Ho, managing director of Shun Tak Holdings.
“This is another golden opportunity for Hong Kong women to explore new cooperation opportunities and linkages between Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong,” said Lam.
During their visit, the delegation met with officials from Effat College, The Jeddah Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Xenel Group, the Saudi Binladin Group and the Supreme Commission for Tourism (STC).
The delegates also attended the first Saudi Businesswomen Forum organized by the Khadija Bint Khuwailid Center in Jeddah, which was sponsored by Arab News.
According to Dr. Lama Al-Sulaiman, board member of the JCCI, of the 700 registered participants at the forum, representatives of the HKFW were the only foreign delegates. Dr. Al-Sulaiman had participated with the Saudi women delegation that visited Hong Kong in 2006 and gave a speech at the Hong Kong General Chambers of Commerce.
The HKFW was founded in 1993 and has become one of the leading women non-government organizations (NGO) in Hong Kong. The group has been serving the community and tending to women development issues for the past 14 years. Currently, the HKFW has grown to a total of 56 corporate members and more than 100,00 individual members.
Over the years, the HKFW has also built up close relationships with women federations all over China, and initiate projects to facilitate women and children’s education and development. Besides local and mainland projects, in the year 2000, the HKFW was granted the “NGO in Consultative Status with the Economic & Social Council of the United Nations” further enhancing its global network.