Nigeria, UAE mull biannual women’s economic forum

Nigeria is continuing to forge a stronger international partnerships to expand women’s economic opportunities, with plans for a biannual economic forum with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a women-focused global trade fair and new areas of cooperation with Switzerland, Romania and Türkiye.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, explored the partnerships during bilateral meetings with representatives of the countries on the sidelines of the Second High-Level International Conference on the Political and Economic Empowerment of Women, RISE 2026, in Belgrade, Serbia.

The engagements focused on adapting proven models, strengthening institutional collaboration and opening new pathways for women’s entrepreneurship, education, technology transfer and economic participation.

During talks with the Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, Mona Ghanem Al Marri, she outlined her country’s progress in advancing women’s leadership and economic participation through legislation, policies and workplace practices including maternity benefits, remote-working arrangements for nursing mothers in the private sector, stronger accountability and expanded career opportunities, particularly amid rapid technological advancement.

The discussion identified the proposed hosting of a Nigeria-UAE Economic Forum every six months and the establishment of a Global Village Trade Fair with dedicated pavilions for women entrepreneurs from different countries.

The initiatives are expected to provide platforms for business networking, market access and cross-border partnerships, subject to further development and implementation.

In a separate meeting, the Minister of Women Affairs and Head of Gender Equality at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Dr Miriam Ganzfried Couderc, explored cooperation in technology transfer, women’s economic empowerment and investment in child development.

The discussion also addressed gender representation, with the Swiss representative agreeing to share Switzerland’s gender equality action plan with Nigeria to support further engagement.

In the same vein, discussion with Romania centred on educational opportunities for young people, university exchange programmes, student funding and the development of gender studies.

The Romanian representative highlighted opportunities for Nigerian students to access programmes at universities in her country, while both sides explored the possibility of organising an academic conference to deepen knowledge exchange and institutional cooperation.

Engagements with Türkiye focused on expanding trade opportunities for women entrepreneurs and advancing a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on women’s empowerment.

The Turkish representative invited the Minister to participate in the KADEM event scheduled for November, while both sides explored plans for an annual trade fair in Nigeria involving 200 Turkish business women.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim also expressed intention to facilitate a visit to Nigeria by Türkiye’s minister responsible for gender affairs after Nigeria’s elections to advance bilateral cooperation.

Other bilateral engagements on the sidelines of RISE 2026 involved representatives of Serbia and Uzbekistan.

The meeting complemented Nigeria’s participation in the conference, which brought together political leaders and senior officials to strengthen alliances for women’s political and economic empowerment.

Held under the theme: “Building Alliances for Generations to Come”, RISE 2026 provided a platform for exchanging policy experiences and exploring partnerships aimed at translating gender-equality commitments into practical opportunities for women and girls.

The proposed initiatives signal a drive to connect international cooperation with tangible opportunities in trade, education, technology and enterprise development, while creating pathways for women to contribute more fully to economic growth.