The embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Korea emphasized that the United Arab Emirates is making a large-scale, government-wide effort to support and strengthen its women's capacities, and that women leaders are demonstrating their abilities in various fields.
H.E Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, Ambassador of the UAE to Korea said “The UAE is making various efforts, including humanitarian aid, to strengthen the capabilities of its women on the international stage.” And added “Also our foreign aid policy prioritizes women’s issue, which aims to promote gender equality, and empower and protect women.”
In fact, the UAE provided 10.7% of its total foreign aid (about US$851 million) in 2019 to protect and empower women and girls. The UAE was a co-founder of the Women Entrepreneurs Fund, established by the World Bank in cooperation with 13 donor countries, and provided approximately $50 million in support as of 2017.
The UAE is granting various powers to female leaders with the goal of empowering women. The UAE's quasi-parliamentary body, the Federal National Council, has been led by Chairman H.E Amal Al Quabaisi for three years, and 50% of the Council is run by women. In addition, the Ministers of the UAE government agencies are also made up of women and women can also be found in UAE armed forces.
The UAE government has long been committed to Women, Peace and Security (WPS) activities at the national and international level. The UAE government encourages women to actively participate in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and building a peaceful society.
In addition, UAE is also considering a partnership with UN Women as a global strategy for accepting WPS standards, and have provided continuous financial support since the launch of UN Women in 2010, to achieve effective goals. In 2019, it announced a three-year contribution of $15 million, encouraging the use of UN Women's contributions to the implementation of the WPS agenda.
On top of this, the UAE Embassy in Korea has been holding seminars with Korean women's organizations to promote the importance of protecting and empowering women and girls and to develop more diverse support measures. On June 28, in cooperation with WKIC (Welcome to Korean International Club), a Korean women's group, a webinar to improve the status of women in both countries, introducing the UAE's efforts to strengthen women's and girls' capacities and discussing Korea's women's empowerment measures was held.
In addition, in June 2021, in cooperation with the Korea Council for Women’s Organizations (KNCW), a webinar for strengthening women’s competency was held, to discuss efforts to strengthen women's competency and share their achievements.