JEDDAH, 17 April 2008 — With the participation of Saudi businesswomen, the fifth session of Arab Women Investors Forum and international cooperation will be held at the League of Arab States in Cairo from 23-26 April.
Dr. Hoda Yassa, president of the Union of Arab Women Investors, which organizes the event, has said that the forum will discuss several aspects involving women investors including obstacles that women investors face.
The forum will also discuss small projects in the Arab region. Besides, the role of banks and the creation of an infrastructure for investment in general and for women investors in particular, will be debated. Yassa said the most important achievement of the Union since its establishment is Maedom Industrial City in the Egyptian province of Beni Suef. She also mentioned the modernization and development of Ma’rib refinery in Yemen in order to increase production from 10,000 to 25,000 barrels per day and the establishment of the Arab Investment Corporation for Economic Development. “Currently, we are preparing to launch a magazine,” she added.
Olfat Qabbani, a member of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce who will lead the Saudi delegation, said the forum will discuss ways to create a full investment cooperation between Arab businesswomen. “Saudi Arabian membership in the Union of Arab Women Investors gains great importance from the presidency of Her Royal Highness, Princess Sitah Bint Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, for the international cooperation commission in the union. The Union has been successful in achieving many accomplishments in spite of the short period since its establishment, and it still has a lot of accomplishments to be achieved.”
Regarding Saudi contribution this year, Qabbani stressed that the Saudi delegation will highlight the role of Saudi businesswomen in the economic development, and their role in coping with the current boom.