Ivanka Trump in Morocco on 'women empowerment' mission

A princess, dates and milk welcomed Ivanka Trump to Morocco on Wednesday as she opened a three-day visit to promote the economic empowerment of women in developing countries.

Morocco’s Princess Lalla Meryem, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and other officials met the daughter of President Donald Trump at the airport in the capital of Rabat.

White-gloved servers offered traditional staples of dates and milk.

Ivanka Trump, a White House adviser, and the princess sat on a sofa and talked for several minutes before departing. She is visiting Morocco to promote the U.S. government’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, which she spearheads.

Launched in February, the program aims to help 50 million women in developing nations advance economically over the next six years.

Ivanka Trump has promoted the initiative during trips this year to sub-Saharan Africa and South America.

She will be accompanied in Morocco by Sean Cairncross, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corp., an independent U.S. foreign aid agency that’s working with the Moroccan government to promote economic growth, reduce poverty and strengthen institutions.

The trip comes after Morocco updated land rights laws that critics say shortchanged women. Ensuring that women can create wealth by inheriting or owning land or other property is a focus of Ivanka Trump’s initiative.

She arrived in Rabat on a national holiday in Morocco and had no public appearances scheduled for Wednesday.

On Thursday, Ivanka Trump arranged to visit an olive grove on the outskirts of the capital that is a Millennium Challenge Corp. project.

She’ll also solicit feedback on women’s empowerment during a roundtable discussion in Rabat with female leaders.

Also planned are meetings with Morocco’s prime minister, foreign minister and royal family.

AP