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Ivanka draws rapturous applause as she praises Saudi Arabia for ‘significant’ reforms for women during speech in Dubai – despite country’s shocking human rights records

  • Ivanka Trump delivered the keynote address at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent Dubai resort on Sunday
  • She lauded a handful of Mideast countries, including Saudi and the UAE during her speech in front of entrepreneurs and regional leaders 
  • Her comments throughout the speech drew applause, particularly when she praised Saudi Arabia 
  • Despite reforms there, women’s rights activists and other campaigners are imprisoned and facing trial on vague charges related to national security

Ivanka Trump has praised close U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their ‘significant reforms’ to advance women’s rights while speaking at a conference in Dubai.

The daughter of President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city’s Persian Gulf coastline on Sunday. 

She lauded a handful of Mideast countries, including Saudi and the UAE during her speech in front of entrepreneurs and regional leaders.   

‘We know that when women are free to succeed, families thrive, communities flourish and nations are stronger,’ Trump said. 

Her comments throughout the speech drew applause, particularly when she praised Saudi Arabia. 

Despite reforms there, women’s rights activists and other campaigners are imprisoned and facing trial on vague charges related to national security. 

Ivanka Trump has praised close U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their 'significant reforms' to advance women's rights while speaking at a conference in Dubai
Ivanka Trump has praised close U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their ‘significant reforms’ to advance women’s rights while speaking at a conference in Dubai
The daughter of President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address at the two-day Global Women's Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city's Persian Gulf coastline on Sunday
The daughter of President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city’s Persian Gulf coastline on Sunday

During her speech in Dubai, Trump congratulated Saudi Arabia for recent changes in the law that allow women to travel abroad and obtain a passport without the permission of a male relative. 

In 2018, a ban on women driving cars was lifted. The changes are part of a wide-ranging push to transform the Saudi economy, attract greater foreign investment and ease international criticism.

Trump pointed to changes in other Mideast countries, as well. She said Bahrain had introduced legislation against discrimination in the workplace; Jordan had eliminated legal restrictions on women’s ability to work at night; Morocco had expanded women’s land rights; and Tunisia had introduced laws to combat domestic violence.

She said, though, more work needed to be done. She noted that across the region, women on average still have only half the legal rights of men.

The audience for her speech in the UAE included Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, World Bank President David Malpass and International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva.

The Dubai ruler is wildly popular at home and is seen as a modernizing force. He has, however, faced some criticism abroad concerning women’s rights following reports that one of his daughters tried to flee the country and was forcibly returned. 

In previous years, Jordanian Princess Haya, with whom Sheikh Mohammed has two children, would have attended a forum of this kind by his side, but she too has reportedly fled the country and is seeking custody of their children in a British court. 

She lauded a handful of Mideast countries, including Saudi and the UAE during her speech in front of entrepreneurs and regional leaders
She lauded a handful of Mideast countries, including Saudi and the UAE during her speech in front of entrepreneurs and regional leaders
Trump and Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attend the Global Women's Forum in Dubai on Sunday
Trump and Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attend the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai on Sunday
She lauded a handful of Mideast countries, including Saudi and the UAE during her speech in front of entrepreneurs and regional leaders
She lauded a handful of Mideast countries, including Saudi and the UAE during her speech in front of entrepreneurs and regional leaders
Ivanka is pictured greeting Lamia Abdulaziz Khan, executive director of the Global Women's Forum, after arriving at the forum on Sunday
Ivanka is pictured greeting Lamia Abdulaziz Khan, executive director of the Global Women’s Forum, after arriving at the forum on Sunday

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have worked to cultivate close ties with the Trump administration and were early supporters of the Women’s Empowerment Fund, a World Bank initiative to help female entrepreneurs that Ivanka Trump strongly backs. 

During the first trip abroad of her father’s presidency to Saudi Arabia, the two Gulf countries pledged $100 million to the fund.

In her speech at Sunday’s forum, Trump commended Emirati leaders for ‘removing barriers to women joining the workforce and developing a national strategy that recognizes that women are central to sustainable growth.’

She noted that although 70 percent of Emirati university graduates are women, only 10% of the UAE’s total national income is derived from women.

‘We know that this going to grow and flourish in the years ahead,’ she said.

The theme of the forum in Dubai was The Power of Influence. 

It was an apt theme for Trump, whose loyalty and support for her father’s presidency saw her and her husband, Jared Kushner, take up formal roles in the White House as his advisers.

The 38-year-old mother of three has positioned herself as an Oval Office confidante while spearheading initiatives that broadly back women’s empowerment. Her husband has become a top adviser on U.S. Mideast policy. 

The daughter of President Donald Trump was welcomed by Lamia Abdulaziz Khan at the two-day Global Women's Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city's Persian Gulf coastline on Sunday
The daughter of President Donald Trump was welcomed by Lamia Abdulaziz Khan at the two-day Global Women’s Forum held in an opulent resort overlooking the city’s Persian Gulf coastline on Sunday
During her speech in Dubai, Trump congratulated Saudi Arabia for recent changes in the law that allow women to travel abroad and obtain a passport without the permission of a male relative
During her speech in Dubai, Trump congratulated Saudi Arabia for recent changes in the law that allow women to travel abroad and obtain a passport without the permission of a male relative
Trump and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva attend the Global Women's Forum in Dubai on Sunday
Trump and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva attend the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai on Sunday

Once the owner of an eponymous fashion line, Ivanka Trump has wielded her proximity to the president to promote policies affecting women and deliver speeches around the world about women’s economic empowerment. She meets with world leaders as a key White House official. 

Some of her efforts even have some bipartisan support in Washington, standing in sharp contrast to the level of controversy and political division surrounding her father’s presidency.

In her keynote speech at the women’s forum in Dubai on Sunday, Trump touted what she said was the progress of women in the United States.

‘Today, American women are leading in every aspect of society. Last year, there were more women than men in the United States workforce, with women securing over 70 percent of new jobs,’ she said in her address. 

Trump made no mention, however, of legislative obstacles in the U.S. around paid family leave, which she and the U.S president support. Currently, just a few U.S. states offer paid leave.

During her two-day visit to the UAE, Trump met with women entrepreneurs and discussed a U.S. government project she’s leading that’s aimed at helping women in developing countries. The Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative was launched last year with backing by her father.

On Saturday, she toured Abu Dhabi’s grand mosque, visited Abu Dhabi’s branch of the Louvre Museum, and met privately with the country’s day-to-day ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

Ivanka Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday ahead of the two-day Global Women´s Forum in Dubai. She is pictured during  a tour of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi
Ivanka Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday ahead of the two-day Global Women´s Forum in Dubai. She is pictured during  a tour of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi 
The blonde beauty - who converted to Orthodox Judaism upon her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner - donned a headscarf and a modest metallic silk-blend dress for her visit to the Islamic place of worship
The blonde beauty – who converted to Orthodox Judaism upon her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner – donned a headscarf and a modest metallic silk-blend dress for her visit to the Islamic place of worship
Ivanka looked to be extremely engaged as she toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque with religious officials and a team of security
Ivanka looked to be extremely engaged as she toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque with religious officials and a team of security 
The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1996 and 2007 at a cost of more than $500 million US dollars
The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1996 and 2007 at a cost of more than $500 million US dollars

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