Saudi Arabia heads 1st Arab women delegation in Maritime Association

CAIRO – 12 November 2017: Saudi Arabia participates in the first “Regional Conference for Arab Women in Maritime Sector” with a high-ranking delegation of Saudi women headed by Wijdan Al-Suhaibani, manager of Branding and Communication at Bahri.

Saudi Arabia is exerting efforts to achieve gender equality at the workplace and the empowerment of women. The event took place at the headquarters of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Alexandria, Egypt, from October 15 to 19, 2017.


Photos courtesy of Bahri

The Saudi Vision 2030 objective aims to boost the national economy and lead the country to have a prominent presence within the field of sustainable development; while also increasing the percentage of women’s participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent.

The conference launched the “Arab Women in Maritime Association” (AWiMA), a platform to bring together the women working in different sectors of the industry in the region with a vision that aims at achieving “an effective Arab woman who promotes a strong maritime sector.” The head of the Saudi delegation, Suhaibani, won the presidency of the newly formed association.


Photos courtesy of Bahri

“It was an honor to be invited by IMO to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at this prestigious conference. Our nation’s participation in these important events truly reflects the social transformation the country is going through and more so as we are representing the maritime industry, which has historically been male-dominated,” said Suhaibani.

About the “Arab Women in Maritime Association” (AWiMA)

AWiMA’s mission is to encourage and empower the Arab woman through improving her professional skills and highlighting her effective role in the maritime sector. Its objectives include enhancing national and regional recognition of the role of Arab women as resources for the maritime industry, strengthening cooperation networks among Arab women in the port and maritime sectors on the local, regional and international levels, building national and regional capacity through equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for the Arab woman, increasing employment opportunities for Arab women at the high management levels of the related sectors in maritime transport, developing partnerships and collaboration with national maritime administrations, regional entities, UN agencies and the private sector and strengthening the mechanisms for implementation of global partnerships of sustainable development particularly the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.