APEC Women and Economy Forum adopts statement to enhance women role
- National Assembly Chairwoman works with Central Party Committee of Public Security
- Simone Veil, French Holocaust survivor and stateswoman, dies at 89
- Ha Noi Traffic Police helps lost woman find her family
- NA Chairwoman begins Hungary visit
At a press conference following the 2017 APEC Women and the Economy Forum closing on September 29. Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan said the forum issued a statement to enhance women’s economic inclusion and empowerment in a changing world.
The statement, adopted by ministers and heads of delegations of APEC economies at the High Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy on the last day of the APEC Women and the Economy Forum, includes important policy recommendations for the 21 APEC economies.
 |
| Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan speaking at the event. |
They focus on promoting gender equality for sustainable, innovative and inclusive economic growth; enhancing the competitiveness and innovation of women-owned micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises; and narrowing gender gap in human resources development.
The APEC Women and the Economy Forum statement is set to be submitted to APEC leaders at their meeting in Da Nang city this November as the adoption was one of the outstanding outcomes of the 2017 APEC Women and the Economy Forum.
According to Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan, the forum also approved and agreed to implement the APEC Gender Inclusion Guidelines (GIGs), initiated by Vietnam.
The ministers and heads of delegations affirmed that the GIGs are an important tool to carry out gender equality programmes and policies in APEC. They pledged to coordinate with other forums of APEC to step up gender inclusion by policy makers and those who implement policies at all levels.
The APEC Women and the Economy Forum also approved the Eligibility Criteria and Guidelines for Accessing the Women and the Economy Sub-Fund. The sub-fund is scheduled to become operational in 2018, promising to bring about more opportunities and resources for the economies that implement women empowerment projects and initiatives.
Deputy Minister Lan said the four-day forum attracted about 700 delegates from 19 of the 21 APEC economies. They included ministers, leaders of government agencies and international organisations, CEOs of big businesses from APEC and non-APEC regions, along with experts and scholars.
Such great participation showed the forum’s attractiveness and the international community’s high hope on Vietnam as the host of the 2017 APEC WEF, she noted.
The official added Vietnam learned much from this APEC Women and the Economy Forum including experiences of other economies and coordination among parties in the organization of the forum. It actively proposed initiatives which could be seen through contributions to the joint statement and through what Vietnamese speakers shared.
