A conference to launch the 'National Strategy for the Advancement of Women in the UAE' will be held today at the premises of the General Women's Union.

The opening ceremony will be attended by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Wife of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union, will host Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, honorary ambassador of the United Nations Develop-ment Fund for Women (Unifem), as a guest speaker.

The event, held under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima, has been organised by the Union in collaboration with the Unifem and the UNDP in the UAE.

The strategy is aimed at further enhancing the role of women in UAE society and supporting their participation in all fields.

According to a statement released by the UNDP on the occasion, the plan is the result of the joint and continual efforts undertaken by the union, the UNDP and the Unifem to turn the recommendations of the Fourth International Women's Congress into an action programme.

The cooperation engaged by the three organisations, the statement said, will help promote women's emancipation in all the fields such as political, economical and social.

The national strategy has been pursued for a long time by the UAE leadership, which has been strongly supporting projects and introducing new policies aimed at protecting and developing the UAE family in its whole and in particular the role of women.

This support is unique and has been adopted as a model by other developing countries.

The statement said the policies of the UAE have received continuous support from Sheikha Fatima, who at the beginning of the new millennium encouraged a balanced development of UAE society and the role of women, in line with economic growth, society's changes and traditional values.

Sheikha Fatima also expressed the necessity of establishing another strategy plan on the basis of the final statements released at the International Women's Congress held in Beijing, in 1995.

Sheikha Fatima suggested to define clear objectives and tools meant to guide and supervise the progress of the UAE women and their specific role in all the fields. Today those recommendations, the statement said, have been turned into the new National Strategy.