Egypt hosts Annual Women Economic Forum for first time

CAIRO – 24 October 2019: Egypt will host the 26th Annual Women Economic Forum on March 4-5, 2020 in Cairo under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al Sisi, according the organizer of the forum, Worx for Events.

This event will take place in the Middle East for the first time during the 2020 edition and is expected to bring together over 1,000 women leaders from Egypt and around the world to tackle the issue of employment, international trade, women in technology and finance, and a lot more.

For the past 25 years, this annual event has brought together over 100,000 inspiring women from across 150 countries.

Worx for Events said in a statement that this annual event is the brainchild of Harbeen Aurora, who was granted a special award at the 2018 World Youth Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh by the Egyptian president for her renowned global achievements as a business leader and philanthropist.

“When I met President Sisi last year, I made a promise to host the Women Economic Forum in Egypt, and today, I am honored to not only announce to the world that it’s happening, but that it will be under his auspices, and with the great support of Maya Morsy, president of the National Council for Women- Egypt.

This incredible endorsement is a testament to Egypt’s commitment to enabling its women leaders and bringing together women from all over the world to expand business opportunities and enhance personal influence," Aurora commented, according to the statement.

President of the National Council for Women Maya Morsy pointed out that this forum is a unique opportunity to gather women leaders in various fields from all over the world in one place to exchange experiences and discuss the challenges that stand in their way and ways to improve the status of women and to empower them.

“We are looking forward to achieving the best results from this forum which will be held for the first time in Egypt," Morsy added.

For her part, founder of The Worx for Events– the organizing company Neamat Khalil expressed her extreme pride to be bringing WEF to Egypt.

Khalil added that it is happening in the right place, at the right time. "This is an era when Egyptian women are shining in leadership roles across a broad spectrum of sectors. The WEF 2020 in Cairo will showcase Egyptian, African & regional success stories, create new networks & business matchmaking opportunities and will also have a very strong tourism component."

The statement also highlighted that in 2018, Forbes Middle East featured 20 Egyptian women in its list for the Top 100 most influential women in the region, adding that the government also launched a program that aims to place women in over 40 percent of leading roles in the country under the umbrella of Egypt’s 2030 Development Strategy.

Moreover, Sisi specifically highlighted the role of Egyptian women in the development of society and women empowerment during his keynote address at the G-20 summit in Japan.