DUBAI — United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has decided that women should make up half of its semi-elected advisory body when it is renewed next year, state-run WAM news agency reported on Saturday.

This will increase the number of women on the UAE council, which expresses opinion about public issues including bills and government budgets, from nine to 20 next year.

The 40-member Federal National Council is currently chaired by a woman, Amal Al-Qubaisi. Half of its members are elected for a four-year term, while the others are appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates making up the federation. The last vote for the elected part was held in 2015.

Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, congratulated Emirati women on this momentous occasion.

“We congratulate Emirati women for increasing their representation in the Federal National Council. An additional step to enhance its role and contribution to national decision-making,” he tweeted.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the decision “gives a great push to the legislative, legal and parliamentary role of women in our (country’s) development.”

“Women are half the society and deserve to represent this half in our Federal National Council,” he said.

The directive should place the UAE among the country’s with the most female representation in parliament, overtaking the UK and US where women make up about 20 percent of Parliament and Congress respectively.

The decree comes days after the UAE Cabinet held a meeting to set out plans to boost the number of women in key positions.

The new empowerment package decreed by the Cabinet is based on three principal axes: Legislation and Policy, Services, and International Representation, all of which include resources to support the advancement of Emirati women as active partners in local, regional and global arenas.

The Cabinet also agreed to set up a media hub that monitors and reports on the success of UAE women, led by the UAE Gender Balance Council, in cooperation with concerned national institutions. — Agencies