Press Release

Statement by the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain, Khaled El Mekwad, on Bahraini Women's Day (1 December 2023)

01 December 2023

On Bahraini Women's Day, I congratulate the Kingdom on its steadfast commitment to gender balance and women's empowerment.

Over this year, Bahrain has continuously progressed in the implementation of its ground-breaking National Gender Balance Model, driving national capacities and investments forward to

achieve His Royal Highness King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa's vision for Bahrain: a nation that empowers and values the contribution of all its people - women and men, girls and boys.

The dedicated efforts of the Supreme Council for Women, under the leadership of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, have been central to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.

The United Nations in Bahrain is proud to partner with the Supreme Council for Women. In 2023, UN Women, the UN's principal entity for gender equality and women's empowerment, established an office in Bahrain; its first programme office in the Gulf region. The UN Country Team has been working closely with the Supreme Council for Women to support the implementation of Bahrain's national development priorities on gender balance, including championing Bahrain's lessons learned on gender-responsive development through such fora as the Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa Global Award for Women's Empowerment.

This year, Bahrain has reported on its accomplishments in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Women's empowerment, full participation, and leadership in all aspects of public life are crucial accelerators for achieving the SDGs by 2030. The United Nations Country Team will continue to partner with the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve SDG 5 and all 17 SDGs by 2030.

Khaled El Mekwad

Khaled El Mekwad

RCO
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain
khaled.elmekwad@un.org
Mr Khaled El Mekwad, from Egypt, has devoted over 30 years to public service. Prior to his current position, he served as UNIDO Regional Representative for Southern Africa based in Pretoria covering ten SADC countries, UNIDO Representative in Sudan with coverage for Djibouti & Yemen, and UNIDO Representative Lebanon with coverage for Jordan & Syria. During 14 years in the UN system, he addressed Industrial & Socio-economic Development, Environment, Poverty Reduction, Human Rights & Post-war recovery in the Middle East & Africa.

Prior to the UN, he pursued an extensive Diplomatic career in his national capacity for 19 years where he served as Alternate Representative at the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the UN in Vienna, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Egypt in Dakar, and Political Officer at the Mission of Egypt to the EU in Brussels.

He obtained two post-graduate Diplomas in International Relations from the National School of Administration in Paris and the Institute for Diplomatic Studies of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo. Mr El Mekwad also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Cairo University. In addition to Arabic, his mother tongue, he speaks fluent English & French.

UN entities involved in this initiative

UN Women
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
UN
United Nations

Goals we are supporting through this initiative