Leyla Khaiat

Mrs Leyla Khaïat who became a Senator Tunisian Parliament, September 2005 is a business owner in the Textiles Industries in Tunisia and is very active in associative leadership.
Mrs Khaïat presides over and is active in international and national economic and cross cutting not-for-profit (NGO) business owners’ organizations :

• President FCEM, 1998 to 2006, world association of women entrepreneurs
• Designed Honorary FCEM World President with Mandate in October 2005
• Founding President AFRIMALIFE international economic development NGO’ for women entrepreneurs from Africa and the Arab Nations.
• First vice-president of the Council of Arab Women Business Owners
• Honorary Vice-President RASEF (Network of African Women Entrepreneurs)
• Honorary president with mandat CNFCE-UTICA
• Vice-President Institute of Arab Business Owners (IACE)
• Founding member and President of the Maghreb Association of Women Entrepreneurs
• Past-Vice President of the National Federation of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts « UTICA » (The multi-sector Tunisian Business Owners Associations
• First vice president of the International Association of Development and Sustainability AICD Février 2013

Distinctions :
• In 1993 and 1997, decorated by the Tunisia’s chief-of-state, receiving the coveted
l’Ordre de Chevalier de la Republic.
• In 1998 : Studies in the Institute of the National Defense (IDN)
• In 1999, recipient of the Artemis international award for outstanding women entrepreneurs from the Euro-American Women’s Council
• In October 2000, recipient of the « Golden Didon’award (in honor of Queen Alyssa Didon the founder of Carthage) in Tunisia for her active dedication to the promotion of women
• Recipient of « the Highest Acknowledgement Award for 2000 », conferred in Rome, December 12, 2000 by the Together for Peace Foundation, and received in audience by His Holiness Pope John Paul II
• Recipient of “The 2004 Olympics special Award”, in May 2001 by the Euro-American Women’s Council 5th Annual Global Women’s Forum.
• In August 2001, conferred the title « Commander » of the « Order of the Republic of Tunisia »
• In July 2002, conferred the « Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Lion d’Or” by President Wade of Senegal for her work to promote women’s entrepreneurship in Africa

Participation and Speaking Engagements : at recent in major international conferences :
• Accelerating Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum, Istanbul, Turkey, June 5 to 7 2004
• Conference on Arab Women Entrepreneurs, Amman, Jordan, June 22 to 23 2004
• Conference on Arab Women Entrepreneurs, Damascus, Syria, September 17 to 19, 2004
• G8 Forum Prep, Business Dialog for Advancing the G8 Plan, September 23-24 2004 New York

• 2nd Annual Conference and Exhibit « New Horizons for development, Arab joint investment and inter-trade” Sharm El Sheïkh, Egypt, December 3 to 7, 2004
•
• Francophone Business Forum, Rabat, Morocco, March 19-20 2005
• World Businesswomen’s Symposium, Istanbul, Turkey, March 27-28 2005
• ADB and RASEF Pan African Conference on Women Entrepreneurs, Yaounde, Cameroun, April 18-19,2005
• OECD MENA Conference Paris October 2011
• MEDDay conference TANGER October 2013