JEDDAH: A US delegation of 16 mayors from various cities was at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Tuesday to explore ways to boost economic ties with the Kingdom, exchange views on issues of mutual concern and encourage trade partnerships.
They met with a member of the chamber’s board of directors, Lama Suleiman, who is also president of the Jeddah Human Development Council. Head of Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Center Basmah Al-Omair and head of the JCCI’s services sector Sarah Bughdadi also attended the meeting.
The US delegation admired the contributions of Saudi women to the Saudi economy.
The mayors will experience first-hand the progress achieved by the Kingdom in various fields, tour mega economic projects and visit historic sites during their stay.
Suleiman told the delegation the role of Saudi women in the Kingdom’s economy has greatly increased during the past five years and that many have become board members of various chambers of commerce and industry and other private organizations.
She recalled that the JCCI’s previous board of directors included four businesswomen. “Women now constitute about 20 percent of the JCCI’s manpower, which has embedded in them the culture of economic work,” she said.
Suleiman also said the chamber supported the small and medium enterprises owned by women through the provision of various facilities, including soft loans and training.
She said the Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Center in the chamber has been able to remove a number of hurdles facing businesswomen since its establishment, adding the center has employed a number of Saudi women.
She said the center recently organized a national forum under the title “Reality of Woman’s Participation in National Development,” attended by over 1,200 participants. She said the forum called for involving women in all phases of planning and for an interpretation of Shariah rules concerning women in work.
