Abu Dhabi, May 5 (IANS/WAM): The Women in Parliaments Global Forum (WIP) has honoured the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its pioneering step of electing Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi as the first woman Speaker in the Arab world and the Middle East.

Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council (FNC), who is currently heading the UAE's delegation to the WIP summit in Jordan's capital Amman, received the certificate of appreciation on Wednesday.

The summit under the theme 'Women in Politics: Fast Forward' is being attended by 260 women parliamentarians from 89 countries to share experiences and best practices on women's role in policy-making.

"We are proud of the international recognition of the UAE's pioneering initiative of supporting women in parliament. We are also grateful to our leadership and to our people who provide trust and confidence to women as active participants in the development process" Al Qubaisi said.

She also said that she was pleased with the honour, not only for the women of UAE, but also for all Arab women.

"We are more optimistic now this will accelerate the efforts for empowering Arab women, especially in the field of political participation," she concluded.