St. Petersburg, Assigned by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Consort of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), Dr. Fatima Mohammed Al Balushi, SCW member, participated in the 2024 Eurasian Women’s Forum. Dr. Al Balushi engaged in several bilateral meetings and contributed to discussions and workshops at the forum, held under the chairmanship of Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia, themed ‘Women for Strengthening Trust and Global Cooperation,’ from September 18-20 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Dr. Al Balushi held a meeting with Galina Karellova, First Deputy Chairwoman of the Regional Policy Committee of the Federation Council of Russia and Chairwoman of the Eurasian Women’s Forum Council, to explore areas of cooperation between the SCW and Russia on women’s issues, sharing experiences in various domains.
She expressed hope for continued cooperation and exchange of expertise, while Karellova praised Bahrain’s effor
ts to support women and welcomed further collaboration.
On the sidelines of the forum, Dr. Al Balushi also met Anastasia Stolkovaya, Chairwoman of the Women for a Healthy Society Committee, to discuss the project’s vision of improving quality of life and reducing mortality, aligned with Russia’s National Strategy for Women 2023-2030.
During a roundtable on women in technology and artificial intelligence, Dr. Al Balushi emphasised the importance of adopting AI technologies tailored to local traditions and lifestyles to enhance efficiency and create job opportunities. She highlighted the SCW’s efforts to encourage Bahraini women to pursue careers in technology.
Dr. Al Balushi also participated in a dialogue between women from Russia and the Arab world, discussing SCW’s support for young entrepreneurs and initiatives like the “Imtiaz” programme for young Bahraini businesswomen, which fosters innovation and economic participation.
She noted that Bahrain hosts the first business incubator for women entrepreneu
rs, “Riyadat,” to support women in establishing and managing small and medium enterprises. She also highlighted the role of Tamkeen, founded in 2006, in promoting SMEs and supporting entrepreneurs.
Dr. Al Balushi attended an open session of the Women 20 (W20) group, which promotes gender equality and economic empowerment, discussing the priorities for 2024-2025 and the role of international women’s cooperation.
In her opening remarks at the forum, Dr. Al Balushi highlighted several initiatives led by the SCW to support women’s role in promoting global peace, technological innovation, environmental safety, and social projects.
Source: Bahrain News Agency