Premier: Bahrain encourages women's participation in development

Manama, Nov. 15 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has received a letter from former US President, Jimmy Carter. In the letter, President Carter informed HRH the Prime Minister about the main recommendations issued by the "Women and the Right of Access to Information" conference, which was organised by the Carter Centre. Held in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the conference was attended by more than 100 human rights and development experts from 30 countries, in addition to government officials and representatives of the relevant international organisations. Carter pointed out that the conference had adopted the "Atlanta Declaration" which, he said, aimed at advancing women’s right of access to information, and included eight recommendations for action at the national and international levels to support women's right and access to information. President Carter said that he was looking forward to HRH Premier’s support for his efforts, as well as for the recommendations which require the adoption of prompt responsive legal frameworks and the development of protection measures to mitigate the risks and ill-treatment that women sometimes face while seeking information, and adopt appropriate solutions that would facilitate women's access to information that is useful to them. HRH Premier sent a reply letter to former US President in which he said that the kingdom’s Constitution guarantees gender equality, noting that Bahraini women account for 55 % of administrative and supervisory posts, and represent 53% of the workforce in the public sector and 33% in the private sector. The Prime Minister also asserted that Bahrain shares the conference’s point of view on the need to take action to ensure women's right to access to information and obtain it. HRH Premier added that the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women (2013-2022) aims to encourage women’s participation in the national development process, provide them with quality knowledge and training and set up incubators to support businesswomen. The Prime Minister also affirmed that the strategies adopted by the kingdom encourage the establishment of equal opportunities units in state departments and the adoption of gender responsive budgets that cater to needs of both women and men and ensure equal opportunities for all, in line with the fifth and 10th sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities, respectively.