Luk Kelles (second left), Founder and Chairman, Belgium Business Club Qatar (BBCQ), and Amal Abdullah Al Aathem exchanging documents after signing an MoU at the Belgium Embassy. Sheikh Turki bin Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani (left), Honorary President, BBCQ;
Belgian Business Club Qatar (BBCQ) and Qatari Business Women Association (QBWA) yesterday signed an MoU for strengthening mutual cooperation. The Mou was signed on the sidelines of a panel discussion to mark the ‘International Women’s Day’ at the Residence of HE Christophe Payot, Ambassador of Belgium to Qatar on Sunday.
Ambassador Payot and Honorary Chairman of BBCQ, Amel Mecili, Assistant Ambassador of Belgium to Qatar and other officials were present. A number of important businesswomen in Qatar and personalities including Aisha Alfardan, ,Vice Chairwoman of QBWA, Melanie Dunn, Mishael Al Ansari, Marketing and Communication Director for the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar and QBWA Board Member and Nadia Al Haroon, Senior Performance Analyst at at Qatar Petroleum also attended the event.
The event began with the signing of the MoU. Amal Abdullah Al Aathem, a Qatari Artist and consultant at Ministry of Culture and Sports signed on behalf of QBWA. The MoU aims at strengthening their relationship in the pursuit of their respective missions and mandates as to achieve greater results.
"The relationship we have started today with BBCQ will enhance the harmony in between two countries. This MoU will open doors for the young ladies to get opportunities to work with BBCQ. We will have vast areas of cooperation to explore from both the sides,” said Amal Abdullah.
A panel discussion took place mainly focusing on gender parity related topics such as participation of women in the workforce, challenges and opportunities for women in Qatar and possible strategies to close the gender gap in Qatar. Participants in the panel included Melanie Dunn, Mishael Al Ansari and Nadia Al Haroon.
The panel discussion concluded by a short presentation by Moza Al Naemi about QSTP's Product Development Fund, which is a new financing mechanism to encourage the development of innovative products and services by SMEs in Qatar.
In a presentation about QSTP’s Product Development Fund Moza Al Naemi said, “QSTP aims to strengthen the private sector and contribute to the diversification of Qatar’s economy by funding SMEs and Startups that develop products and services relevant to the local market needs. Selected companies will have access to funding of up to QR 1.8m.”
