29 September 2017, Thua Thien Hue, Viet Nam – The APEC 2017 Women and the Economy Forum was held today, under the chairmanship of Viet Nam’s Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, H.E. Dao Ngoc Dung. Ministers and Vice-Ministers from APEC member economies, heads of representative missions in Viet Nam, and some 200 delegates from member economies, the APEC Secretariat, ABAC, and heads of Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities participated in the event.
The Dialogue adopted important documents aiming to promote gender equality and enhance women’s economic empowerment in the APEC region, as follows:
1. The 2017 APEC Women and the Economy Forum Statement. This provides policy recommendations for APEC member economies on three priorities of APEC 2017, including: promoting gender equality for sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth; enhancing competitiveness and innovation of MSMEs led by women; reducing gender gap in human resources development. Delegates agreed to submit the Statement to APEC Leaders for endorsement this November in Da Nang.
2. The PPWE’s “Gender Inclusion Guidelines” was also endorsed and highly regarded by delegates as an important tool to implement APEC gender equality programs and policies. Delegates also agreed to strengthen the cooperation and coordination among APEC fora to promote “gender inclusion” in policy making and in the implementation of APEC projects and cooperation programs.
3. The “Eligibility Criteria and Guidelines for Accessing the Women and the Economy Sub-Fund” was also approved by WEF. The sub-fund is scheduled to become operational in 2018, promising to bring more opportunities and resources for economies that implement women’s empowerment projects.
The success of the APEC 2017 Women and Economy Forum once again demonstrated APEC’s commitment in promoting gender equality, which is regarded as the center of economic development and human resources, and contributing to the global efforts to achieve the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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