Event Host: MENA-OECD Business Forum and Women Business Leaders Summit

Event Overview: Organised as part of the 2009 MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference in co-operation with the Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM), the 2009 Business Forum of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme brought together over 400 high-level representatives from both the private and public sector to discuss key issues for investment reform in the MENA region. Held the day preceding the 2009 MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference, the Business Forum addressed questions such as: How can women’s entrepreneurship become a catalyst for growth beyond the crisis? What obstacles need to be overcome? How can responsible business conduct contribute to the success of companies and the sustainable development of societies? What has business learned from the crisis and how can governments harness those lessons for MENA’s future? Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani, Chairman of AIWF, participated in a prominent round table session, speaking on how women in business can overcome obstacles to entrepreneurship. She also presented AIWF recommendations for realizing the potential of Arab women in the private and public sectors, as determined by deliberations at the 2008 AIWF Conference, Partners for Change, hosted in Washington DC by The World Bank.