(VOVWORLD) - Women’s role in national development is crucial, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Thursday at the ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit, themed “Role of women in building a cohesive, dynamic, sustainable and inclusive ASEAN Community in the post-COVID-19 world.”
 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (left) and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit |
The event, part of the ongoing 37th ASEAN Summit, was attended by National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Dutch Queen Maxima, ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, and female leaders from ASEAN and other international organizations.
Prime Minister Phuc said that women’s role has been proved in the fight against COVID-19, when countries led by women have fatality rates six times lower than other countries. He said women face many challenges, including inequality and disadvantages in many aspects of daily life. He cited a UN estimate that 435 million women and girls will be pushed into poverty by 2021, 47 million of them directly hit by COVID-19. Prime Minister Phuc said women should be at the center of epidemic recovery efforts and policies in every country.
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged ASEAN countries to take a more creative and effective approach to promoting the role of women after the pandemic.
“ASEAN needs to involve women in reconstruction and recovery, enhance women’s leadership and voices in decision-making, strengthen their economic power, and make gender equality and women’s empowerment a priority in building the post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision. ASEAN needs to take new, creative, and effective approaches to promoting women’s role in every area, including tapping the benefits of digital technology.”
Dutch Queen Maxima, special advocate to the UN Secretary-General for Inclusive Finance for Development, said:
“Ensuring that women are not deprived of the participation in the digital economy through equal access to the infrastructure, particularly through IDs, mobile devices and connectivity. Now's the time to build on many good existing ASEAN initiatives, including the ASEAN working committee on financial inclusion. We need to accelerate smart policies, invest and market incentives to drive women's financial inclusion throughout the region. As a UN Secretary General special advocate for inclusive finance for development, I look forward to deepening my engagement with ASEAN member states.”
In order to enhance women’s capacity and promote their potential, next year Vietnam will hold an ASEAN High-Level Forum on the role of women in contributing to comprehensive and sustainable recovery.