IANS

Dubai, Feb 15: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the 12th Woibex Global Businesswomen and Leaders Summit here March 8 to coincide with 100 years of International Women's Day, WAM news agency reported.

The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) will organise the conference in partnership with Datamatix, an IT company, at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, the report said Sunday.

"WOFAN is partnering with Datamatix in this global conference because we are convinced this event is a reinforcement of our common efforts to promote women entrepreneurship and empowerment," said Hajia Salamatu Garba, executive director of the network.

"Women leaders who have taken giant strides in shaping the lives of their fellow women in development will be honoured," she said.

"We all must see that economic and social empowerment of women enables us to speak in one voice that will bring peace, prosperity and happiness to the world," she added.

"Woibex was founded in 1999 because we strongly believed then - as we do now - that women are important contributors to our economy and society, and that they have the potential to play even greater roles if they are given the right tools, encouragement, and opportunities.

"Woibex 2010 marks an important milestone for us, and we have worked very hard to bring renowned, world leaders, businesswomen and academics - befitting the 12th edition of what we consider to be one of our most important events," said Ali Al Kamali, managing director of Datamatix.