Egypt was the first in the Middle East and North Africa to launch the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, in cooperation with the World Economic Forum and the National Council for Women (NCW), Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said Saturday 25/06/2022.

She made the remarks during a meeting with Director General of the Dubai Government Media Office, Vice President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance Mona Ghanim Al-Marri, in the presence of Secretary-General of the UAE Gender Balance Council Shamsa Al Saleh, and Director of Dubai Press Club Maitha Buhumaid.

Applauding development cooperation between Egypt and the UAE under the current political leadership in both countries, Mashat said her ministry is committed to furthering cooperation with development institutions to make the utmost use of their services and facilities.

Mashat posted the UAE officials on Egypt's gender balance endeavors. She said the coronavirus pandemic did not hamper development efforts in Egypt, including those aimed at fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

She said Egypt had adopted 21 measures during the pandemic to accelerate women’s empowerment, making it the first in the Middle East and West Asia in terms of the policies adopted in support of women during the pandemic, according to a UN and UNDP report.