DUBAI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Thursday that empowering women can harmonize the conservative nature of the Emirati society.

Anwar Al-Gargash, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, made the statement in a tweet on his Twitter account.

The tweet came on the occasion of the International Women's Day that falls on Thursday.

Al-Gargash, whose Twitter account has 675,000 followers, added that the UAE's experience in empowering women was meant to underline its ambition "to activate the role of women in various aspects of modern life."

The UAE cabinet currently has nine female ministers and ministers of state, representing 30 percent of the government's members.