Political will, financial empowerment essential for gender equality: WEF panelists

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Panelists called for more concerted efforts to bridge the gender gap in political power. (Screengrab)
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Panelists called for more concerted efforts to bridge the gender gap in political power. (Screengrab)
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Panelists called for more concerted efforts to bridge the gender gap in political power. (Screengrab)
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Updated 23 January 2025
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Political will, financial empowerment essential for gender equality: WEF panelists

  • Alicia Barcena Ibarra: When women have economic autonomy, it’s easier for them to participate on many fronts
  • Ibarra: We don’t want only women or only men. We need both because they have complementary visions

DUBAI: Political will is crucial for bridging the global gender gap and empowering women financially against pressing challenges, a panel of experts told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.

Panelists acknowledged some progress in advancing female political representation, as 15.5 percent of heads of state around the world have been women over the past decade.

However, they called for more concerted efforts to bridge the gender gap in political power. According to WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report, it will take 168 years to reach gender parity, but if every economy had a gender-balanced Cabinet, global gender parity could be within reach in 54 years.

Alicia Barcena Ibarra, Mexico’s secretary of environment and natural resources, stressed that building women’s economic autonomy was key to advancing their political representation.

“When women have economic autonomy, it’s easier for them to participate on many fronts because when they are dependent on economic terms, that’s when they are vulnerable to corruption, dependency and abuse,” Ibarra said.

In Mexico, the first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, was elected in October last year in a historic moment for the country. Under law, Congress now has to include 50 percent women, paving the way for the the first woman to lead the country’s Supreme Court, as well as the first female governor of the central bank.

While these strides on the political level have reflected positively on women’s social participation and inspired a young generation of Mexicans, Ibarra said that it revealed the pressure on women to perform.

“[The new president] has to do double the work because it’s not naturally accepted to have a female in the highest level of power, so she has to do even better than than men in many fronts to demonstrate that it's possible.”

Complementing her sentiments, Francois Valerian, chair of Transparency International, said that the lack of financial resources for women compared to men made females more vulnerable to abuses of power, state corruption and climate change.

“Pakistan’s floods, for example, left many women and children in need to receive aid,” said Valerian, calling for parity in political power to solve these issues at the community level.

Even during elections, women needed more financial resources for their campaigns “because they have less money, they are outsiders, and need to convince people they are to be trusted. Also, they need money for their safety in many countries,” Valerian said, as he urged governments to empower women to run for election through dedicating funds for this.

Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, minister of state and minister of foreign affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, stressed that gender parity was necessary in all sectors to advance peacemaking and peacebuilding initiatives. So far, women’s inclusion had been achieved at the grassroot level.

She said that women needed to be included in decision-making and negotiating peace at the top level to ensure female concerns were well represented.

“There’s a need to think about how do we make sure that this is a cross-cutting approach and not just women at the local level who then have to own what is decided at the top level,” Wagner said.

At the UN General Assembly last year, only 19 speakers were women, including five heads of state and three heads of government, according to UN figures.

Wagner said that the starting point should be international organizations reflecting the progress on gender equality, and called for a female UN secretary-general.

“I think all our eyes are shifting toward Latin America because of the geographic rotation, with a lot of expectations that a continent that has distinguished itself with so many women that have assumed positions of leadership will also help us achieve that important milestone,” she said.

In peacemaking, the role of both genders was necessary for progress. “We don’t want only women or only men. We need both because they have complementary visions,” Mexico’s Ibarra said.


Putin invited Trump to Moscow to discuss Ukraine, Kremlin says

Updated 42 min 2 sec ago
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Putin invited Trump to Moscow to discuss Ukraine, Kremlin says

  • Putin last spoke to a sitting US president in February 2022 when he had a call with Joe Biden shortly before ordering thousands of troops into Ukraine

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday discussed ending the war in Ukraine, agreed to meet in the future and Putin invited Trump to Moscow, the Kremlin said.
Putin last spoke to a sitting US president in February 2022 when he had a call with Joe Biden shortly before ordering thousands of troops into Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Trump discussed the Middle East, bilateral relations, Ukraine and a prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow, state news agency TASS reported.
“The Russian president invited the US president to visit Moscow and expressed his readiness to receive American officials in Russia in those areas of mutual interest, including, of course, the topic of the Ukrainian settlement,” Peskov said.
“Putin and Trump also agreed to continue personal contacts, including arranging a face-to-face meeting.”
Trump, author of the 1987 book “Trump: the Art of the Deal,” has repeatedly said he wants to end the war and that he will meet Putin to discuss it, though the date or venue for a summit is still not publicly known. 


Indonesia, Turkiye agree to set up drone factory during Erdogan’s visit

Updated 12 February 2025
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Indonesia, Turkiye agree to set up drone factory during Erdogan’s visit

  • Indonesian, Turkish leaders agree to speed up CEPA talks, increase trade to $10 billion
  • Drone factory joint venture deal signed by Turkiye’s Baykar and Indonesia’s Republikorp

JAKARTA: Indonesian and Turkish defense companies agreed on Wednesday to set up a jointly operated drone factory, as the two countries signed a series of deals during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

Erdogan arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday to co-chair with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council — a bilateral mechanism for state-level negotiations.

After the council meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a joint venture deal between Turkish drone maker Baykar and Indonesian defense firm Republikorp at the Bogor Palace, West Java.

“Indonesia and Turkiye will also strengthen our defense and security cooperation, including education and training for our armed forces, intelligence partnership and counter-terrorism efforts. We also agreed to increase our cooperation and joint production in the defense industry,” Prabowo said during a joint press conference.

“Our meeting was active and productive, we have the same commitment to strengthen our partnership.”

The agreement to set up a drone factory in Indonesia was signed by Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar and Republikorp Chairman Norman Joesoef. Details of the deal were not immediately available.

Baykar drones, particularly unmanned aerial combat vehicle Bayraktar TB2, gained global prominence after they were used by Ukraine’s military against Russian forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Indonesia and Turkiye — both members of the Group of 20 biggest economies — also agreed to speed up negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, to boost bilateral trade, worth about $2.4 billion in 2024.

They signed nine agreements, which besides defense, covered trade, higher education, health care and agriculture.

“We considered it important to enhance our cooperation across various fields,” Erdogan said.

“We will work toward increasing our annual bilateral trade to $10 billion with balanced values. We are committed to do all things necessary to realize this commitment.”


UK Muslim, Jewish leaders present reconciliation accord to King Charles after summit

Updated 12 February 2025
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UK Muslim, Jewish leaders present reconciliation accord to King Charles after summit

  • Chief rabbi: Agreement represents ‘bold first step towards rebuilding meaningful trust’

LONDON: Senior Muslim and Jewish leaders from Britain held a secret summit that resulted in the signing of a historic reconciliation accord that was presented to King Charles III, The Times reported.

The summit was hosted last month at the 17th-century Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland and involved 11 religious leaders.

The resulting agreement, dubbed the Drumlanrig Accord, was presented to the king on Tuesday.

He hailed the “marvellous exercise” and said the “least he could do” was host the religious leaders.

The summit, held at the invitation of the duke of Buccleuch, aimed to repair ties between the UK’s Muslim and Jewish communities in the wake of the Gaza war.

“The leaders were honoured to be able to present a copy of the accord to his majesty the king at Buckingham Palace, underscoring its profound national and societal significance,” the group of faith leaders said.

“A new framework for engagement … built on mutual respect, dialogue and practical collaboration” between British Muslims and Jews was laid out in the accord. It highlights the shared spiritual heritage of the two faiths.

Both communities committed to working together on “practical initiatives that support the most vulnerable.”

Observers hope that the accord will lead to the establishment of a joint body that could monitor Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents in Britain.

The idea for the summit was put forward by the chief imam of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Sayed Razawi, who had been working for a year to bring Muslim and Jewish figures together for dinners and meetings.

Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, also played a key role.

Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam were represented. Civil servants and community groups also attended.

Razawi said: “Initially people were slightly nervous as they were coming in and saw this huge castle that takes your breath away, but within an hour and a half people were best of friends, joking, talking about each other’s families, discussing issues and problems.”

After eight hours of discussion, the faith leaders agreed upon the accord. They met again on Tuesday at Spencer House in London to sign the document, before walking together to Buckingham Palace to present it to the king.

Mirvis said the accord represents “a bold first step towards rebuilding a meaningful trust between Muslim and Jewish communities over the long term.

“They do not gloss over our differences; they acknowledge them. But they also send out a powerful message that in times of division, when it is far easier to retreat into fear and suspicion, we are prepared to take the more challenging path to reconciliation.”


Gaza family gets UK residency through Ukraine visa program

Updated 12 February 2025
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Gaza family gets UK residency through Ukraine visa program

  • Home Office rejection of family’s claim breached their human rights: Judge
  • They faced ‘dire situation’ amid ‘daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks’

London: A Palestinian family fleeing Gaza have been granted the right to live in Britain through a scheme for Ukrainian refugees.

The family of six refugees were granted anonymity and permitted to join their brother in the UK following the ruling.

It is believed to be the first time refugees from outside Ukraine have used the Ukraine Family Scheme to receive residency rights.

An original rejection of the family’s claim by the Home Office breached their human rights, an immigration judge, Hugo Norton-Taylor, ruled.

More than 70,000 visas were granted to Ukrainians and their family members through the scheme, which launched in March 2022 and closed in February last year.

The Palestinian family applied through the scheme in January 2024, a month before it closed, arguing that their situation was “compelling” enough to justify an exception to the rules.

The mother, father and four children aged 7, 8, 17 and 19 were living in a Gaza refugee camp.

They faced “daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks” after an airstrike destroyed their home, the judge said. The family’s sponsor arrived in Britain in 2007 and is now a citizen.

Documents show that Norton-Taylor found that they were living in a “dire situation.” The family were exposed to a humanitarian crisis resulting from “the Israeli government’s indiscriminate attempts to eliminate Hamas.”

An initial rejection of their claim by a Home Office tribunal argued that instituting a resettlement scheme for Palestinians was not the body’s responsibility.

But Norton-Taylor found that the rejection interfered with their right to a family life. He highlighted the “incredibly dangerous” situation for Palestinians in Gaza and warned of the family’s “high risk of death.”

A Home Office spokesperson said the department had contested the claim “rigorously,” adding: “The latter court ruled against us on the narrow facts of this specific case.

“Nevertheless, we are clear that there is no resettlement route from Gaza, and we will continue to contest any future claims that do not meet our rules.”


Bangladesh cuts airfare for Saudi-bound migrant workers

Updated 12 February 2025
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Bangladesh cuts airfare for Saudi-bound migrant workers

  • Under the new scheme, base fares for flights to the Kingdom are set at $360
  • Workers must be registered with Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training

DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government has introduced a special discounted airfare to reduce migration costs for expat workers traveling to Saudi Arabia and other foreign employment destinations, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said on Wednesday.

The decision was issued by the ministry in a circular on Tuesday, directing all airlines and travel agencies operating in the country to provide special fares for Bangladeshis traveling on work visas.

“It’s an inter-ministerial coordinated decision aimed at reducing the burden on our remittance earners. We have instructed all airlines operating in Bangladesh to adhere to these base fare guidelines,” said Abu Naser Khan, additional secretary at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

“Our migrants have been burdened by the high cost of airfare. Our chief adviser, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, is deeply sympathetic to the plight of migrant workers, and this base fare reduction has been implemented following his guidance and approval.”

The national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, has already approved the reduced fare scheme, while other carriers need to take measures by the end of next week to decrease ticket prices.

“A task force has been formed to monitor the situation on the ground. Led by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, this task force will include representatives from all relevant stakeholders,” Khan said.

“Bangladeshi migrants who are traveling as new recruits to any country with a smart card issued by the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training are eligible for this opportunity.”

The decision is to prevent travel agencies from manipulating ticket prices.

“There was a trend here in Bangladesh to book the air tickets much earlier without the details of the passengers. This practice creates a crisis in the availability of the tickets, forcing the migrants to pay a high fare,” said Afsia Jannat Saleh, secretary general of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh.

“This system was called group booking. The agents booked tickets at the rate of $300-400, but the migrants needed to pay up to $900 for a one-way ticket.”

Most Bangladeshi expat workers look for opportunities in Saudi Arabia, where about 3 million of them live and work. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.

“At the moment, most of our migrants are traveling to Saudi Arabia ... Since September last, the number of migrants travel has just doubled. Earlier, it was around 44,000 per month, and now it stands around 84,000,” Saleh told Arab News.

“In the case of traveling to Saudi Arabia, now migrants will be able to save around $100.”

Under the new airfare structure, base fares — excluding taxes — are set at $360 for flights on the Dhaka-Jeddah, Dhaka-Madinah and Dhaka-Riyadh routes. Earlier, the cheapest price ranged between $430 and $480.