In cooperation with Institute for Development and Human Security (IDHS) of Ehwa Womans University

The UAE Embassy in Seoul organized the second virtual session entitled "Efforts of UAE and Korea to Empower and Protect Women and Girls", in cooperation with Institute for Development and Human Security(IDHS) of Ehwa Womans University, via WEBEX, on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. The webinar aims to introduce the efforts of the United Arab Emirates in the field of empowering women and girls.

His Excellency Ambassador Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi presented the UAE's efforts to empower women in the UAE internally and externally on the international environment and the humanitarian aid provided by the UAE in this aspect.

On the other hand, His Excellency Jinhwan Oh, Ph.D., Director of IDHS, and Ms. Nancy Y. Kim, Researcher of IDHS, reviewed ways to empower women in the Republic of Korea.

The session was attended by a number of senior officials, a group of Korean businesswomen and a number of university students in the Republic of Korea, who are interested in this aspect. The session also included asking many questions from the participating attendees and exchanging opinions, who liked the topic, provided them with the desired benefit, and introduced them to the ways and efforts of the two friendly countries in the field of women's empowerment.

It is noteworthy that the UAE embassy in Seoul held the first virtual session with the Korean National Council of Women (KNCW) last June, to learn about the efforts of the two countries in the field of women's empowerment, their achievements and goals.

It should be noted that the UAE has greatly contributed to supporting and empowering women at the national and international levels, and the UAE is keen on the participation of the countries of the world in the humanitarian duty of solidarity and joint action to alleviate the suffering of the groups most in need of support. In most societies these groups are often women, girls and children.

The UAE has been keen to ensure the integration of women's issues within the priority issues of foreign aid policy, as well as ensuring its alignment with the sustainable development goals, by integrating issues of gender equality, empowerment and protection among the priorities of UAE foreign aid programs and projects.

The UAE's foreign aid to empower and protect women and girls in 2019 totaled nearly USD850.72million (10.7% of total foreign assistance). The UAE has also worked to support women's economic empowerment being one of the founders of the Women Entrepreneurs Fund, hosted by the World Bank in collaboration with 13 donor countries, and in 2017 the UAE announced its commitment of US$50 million.

The UAE Government has a longstanding commitment to advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda, not only in UAE, but also globally. The UAE Government is also committed to promoting the active participation of women in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and all aspects of building peaceful societies. The UAE Government considers its partnership with UN Women as a key part of its global strategy to implement the WPS agenda and considers financing critical for its effective implementation.

To fulfill its commitments, the UAE Government continued its financial support to UN Women – which it has contributed since the inception of UN Women in 2010 – and in 2019 announced a three years contribution of 15 Million US dollars unearmarked and encouraged UN Women to use a portion of these funds to ensure the implementation of the WPS agenda around the world.