Qatar holds high-level event on Women’s Empowerment in GCC Region

Qatar, as the chair of the 44th session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), organised a high-level event titled ‘Closing the Gap: Women’s Empowerment in the Gulf Co-operation Council Region’ at the UN headquarters in New York, on the sidelines of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).The event was attended by HE the Minister of Social Development and Family Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser al-Misnad, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed, along with GCC ministers of social development for family, and secretaries-general of the GCC supreme councils for women and family.During her speech, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the UN, HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, expressed Qatar’s pleasure at organising an event for the first time during the annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women that particularly focuses on the vital role Gulf women play in the social and economic development of the GCC region.She affirmed the GCC states’ commitment to continue supporting the full potential of women and families as key drivers of social and economic progress, highlighting their effective contribution in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.HE the Minister of Social Development and Family praised this high-level side event, which highlights the efforts of women’s empowerment in GCC region, noting it as an opportunity to showcase the efforts and status of Gulf women and to continue to enhance this status on an international level.She highlighted the importance of the issue of protecting and defending the family to preserve the cultural identity and the family and social system of Gulf society.