The Seventh Meeting of the IORA Working Group on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WGWEE) was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran on 22-23 May 2023 and was hosted by the Vice-Presidency for Women and Family Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Coordinating Country of Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE).
The meeting was chaired by H.E. Dr. Khadijeh Karimi, Director General of the International Office, VicePresidency for Women and Family Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was attended by representatives of IORA Member States namely People's Republic of Bangladesh, Republic of India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Madagascar, Malaysia, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Mozambique, Sultanate of Oman, Federal Republic of Somalia, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The meeting addressed the following:
1. Member States’ individual report as to improvement in the Women’s Economic Empowerment in their respective countries
2. Panel discussion on women’s economic empowerment; innovation and best practices in the field of businesses and entrepreneurship.
3. Panel discussion on the role of women in the fight against corruption.
The main take aways from the 7th Meeting of the WGWEE is the Tehran Communique on the role of women in the fight against corruption which will be circulated among Member States soon. Further, the in-person meeting gave the opportunity to Member States to discuss of future collaborations in view of advancing of the field of Women Economic Empowerment in the Indian Ocean Rim region.
In addition, during the meeting, delegates had the opportunity to discover some of the cultural heritage of Tehran namely the Sadaabad Palace, the Green Palace, as well as the Al-Zhara all-girl University, the oldest all-girl university of the country.
