The 2012 Global Summit of Women will be held in Greece this year, opening in Athens on Thursday with the theme "Women: The Engine of Economic Growth".

Women from all over the world, leaders in government and business, scientists, professionals and academics, personalities in the Society of the Citizens and the global women's movement, will gather in Athens for the three-day Summit, which has been taking place for the last 22 years.

"We deliberately chose Greece to host the Summit this year because we strongly believe that we should always be there where we are needed most," Irene Natividad, president of the Global Summit of Women, told AMNA.

"The Summit will bring new ideas, and prospective alliances, through the meetings between Greek entrepreneurs and Summit participants, while it will also provide an opportunity for talented Greek women to present themselves and get to know people of international prestige, giving a different picture of Greece," Natividad added.

The Global Summit of Women was conceived as the nexus at which all sectors - public, private and nonprofit - would come together under the common vision of dramatically expanding women's economic opportunities globally through exchanges of working solutions and creative strategies forged by women leaders in different parts of the world. It is a business Summit, whose 'business' focus is women's advancement in the global economy.