Investment worth $150 million have been agreed on at the Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM) 63rd World Business Women's Congress in Bahrain.

Held under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty the King and Supreme Council for Women (SCW) president, the three-day event organised by the Bahrain Business and Professional Women International Federation (BPW) concluded yesterday (March 25), said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Themed "Our Bridges to the World", the forum witnessed the participation of more than 500 high-profile businesswomen and entrepreneurs representing nearly 40 countries around the world as well as prominent international figures.

BPW Bahrain president Shaikha Hind bint Salman Al Khalifa said she was proud that they had succeeded in making the global event a platform to encourage communication and establish new business partnerships across borders.

She said B2B meetings organised during the forum had brought together business owners from different regions and sectors and saw the birth of new ideas and achieved concrete results through contracts and trade agreements.

"It is hoped that these meetings will open new doors for partnerships and new businesses all over the world, despite all the difficult circumstances going on in the globe," Shaikha Hind added.

FCEM president Laura Frati Gucci said a key objective behind choosing to host the event in the Arab world for the second time was to attract the largest number of Arab businesswomen.

"We encourage all business owners from the region to take advantage of this opportunity to connect and create new horizons for co-operation," she said.

Arab Businesswomen Council president and Ambassador of the FCEM in the Arab region, Dr Shaikha Hessa Saad Al Sabah hailed the great enthusiasm shown by Arab businesswomen towards this evolving investment and trade exchange programme.

Unido Investment and Technology Promotion Office head Dr Hashim Hussain said more than 400 bilateral meetings resulted in around 40 letters of intent.

"The estimated investment value of the potential deals is $150 million.

"I consider this as one of the biggest achievements of the conference and the clearest indicator of success," he said.

Prominent international figures who took part include UAE Minister of Development and International Affairs and president of Zayed University Shaikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, deputy chairman of the Board of Trustees and General Supervisor of Effat University in Jeddah Princess Lulua Al Faisal bint Abdul Aziz, Oman's former family and community development minister Dr Sharifah Al Yahyai and former minister and member of the Kuwaiti parliament Dr Massouma Al Mubarak. - TradeArabia News Service