Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan delivers a statement at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Global Summit of Women in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 23. (Photo: VNA) Your Excellency Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand,
Madam Irene Natividad, President of the Global Summit of Women,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to attend the 2022 Global Summit of Women (GSW) hosted in thebeautiful and hospitable Thailand. First, on behalf of the Vietnamesedelegation, I would like to extend my wishes of peace, prosperity anddevelopment to Excellency Prime Minister of Thailand, Madam President of theGSW, and all delegates.
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Thailand on the efforts andachievements in gender equality and women empowerment. They have been reflectedin your regulations and enforcement and oversight mechanisms to protect women’srights and interests. Such efforts have also been recognised through the UNSecretary-General’s appointment of a Thai Princess as a Goodwill Ambassador inThailand for UN Women, in line with the determination and desire to “Say No toViolence against Women”. The percentage of Thai women owning and runningbusinesses is 24%, higher than the world average (20%) and in the Asia-Pacific(13%). These are truly impressive results.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The world is facing unprecedented instabilities as a result of the dual impactsof the COVID-19 pandemic, and of crises and conflicts. Meanwhile, women, inspite of their important position and role in the development process, aredirectly affected and hardest hit. Many of them have seen their healthaffected, lost their jobs, received less income, fallen prey to poverty andviolence, and lagged behind in terms of know-hows, skills, and opportunitiesfor re-integration.
Nonetheless, if together we can change our mindset and act, these difficultiesand challenges can completely be transformed into opportunities, as thepost-pandemic world is quickly moving toward recovery and growth. Positivetrends in sustainable development, green and inclusive growth, digitaltransformation, public-private partnership, social security, and educationreforms, among others, have created new economic opportunities for women.
With that in mind, this Summit’s theme: “Women: Creating Opportunities in theNew Reality” is greatly relevant to the formulation and implementation ofpolicies in post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development. This year,the Vietnamese delegation, with the presence of leaders of ministries andagencies, and more than 50 businesses, will surely make a positive contributionto the success of the Summit. At the Opening Ceremony, I wish to propose thefollowing:
Firstly, we need to bolster the voice and participation of women in legislativeand executive bodies, and the planning and implementation of developmentpolicies. Women should be viewed as the goal, the driver, the subject, and atthe same time, the beneficiary of the pursuit of a “new reality”, acomprehensive economy, a fair society, and sustainable development.
Secondly, economic empowerment for women is essential in the new context.Necessary frameworks and policies should be put in place to facilitate women’sentrepreneurship and access to finance and digital know-hows, ensure fair pay,and stable and suitable employment for women. We need to fully harness the roleof organizations and networks, in order to gather and connect women at alllevels so that they can share experience, inspire, and support each other formutual growth.
Thirdly, it is necessary to further advance gender mainstreaming and women’sempowerment in responding to climate change, minimizing natural disaster risks,and ensuring sustainable livelihoods. As one of the countries most heavilyimpacted by climate change, Vietnam is keenly aware of the issue’s urgency.Many solutions have been proposed to transform the growth model, build a green,sustainable, circular and environment-friendly economy, and increase people’sresistance and adaptability to climate change, particularly of women and girls.
Fourthly, we should enhance the capacity of female workforce, to draw fromtheir potential and strength, and their desire for ownership and betterment.Women need to make good use of opportunities from the 4th Industrial Revolutionand gain access to advanced knowledge and digital applications in order to keepup with current major trends. Starting now, there must be education strategiesfocusing on girls, to turn them into a skilled workforce for the future.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The consistent and overarching policy of the State of Vietnam is to promotegender equality in each and every phase of national development. The NationalStrategy on Gender Equality for 2021-2030 was issued to further narrow gendergaps and create opportunities for women and men to participate and benefitequally from achievements in different aspects of social life, contributing tothe sustainable development of the entire nation.
In fact, over 50% of the Vietnamese population is female and women account fornearly 48% of the labor force. They have taken more prominent positions andmade notable contributions to every aspect of social life. In politics, over30% of National Assembly Deputies are women, a higher figure than the regionalaverage, and 50% of Ministries and Ministerial-level agencies have women ascore leaders. In the economy, 29.8% of businesses are women-owned. As such, Vietnamranks 6th among countries with the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs.The Vietnam Women’s Union’s organization spans from the central to the locallevels, and holds a vital role in assembling and representing the lawful andlegitimate rights and interests of all women. The Union’s highest priority isto strive for the development of women and gender equality.
Vietnam always makes every effort to foster its image as an active andpioneering country in issues relating to gender equality and women empowerment.Vietnam has proposed and taken the lead in drafting various gender equalityinitiatives such as the Human Rights Council’s Resolution on Human Rights andClimate Change with a focus on women’s rights (2018), and the UNSC Resolution1889 on Women and Peace and Security (2009). In particular, Vietnamese femaleofficers have been deployed to UN peace-keeping missions in South Sudan and theCentral African Republic, with higher representation than the UN’s recommendedpercentage. The female bomb disposal squad of Quang Tri province in central Vietnamhas overcome countless difficulties and dangers over many years to bring safetyto a land once heavily polluted with bombs.
These persistent efforts have laid the groundwork for Vietnam to become one ofthe fastest countries in eliminating gender disparity in the last 20 years, aswell as in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goal on Promoting GenderEquality and Empowering Women. Efforts are underway to implement the 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly the objectives on genderequality and empowerment of women and girls.
Recently, to counter the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam hascontinuously issued numerous policies to assist people and businesses inhardship, with various institutional breakthroughs in terms of eligibility andprocedures, with priority given to women and girls. To date, three supportpackages, worth 5.5 billion USD, have been provided.
To help the economy overcome difficulties, keep up with the global economicrecovery and create favorable conditions for the next phase in socio-economicdevelopment, Vietnam is focusing on implementing the Socio-Economic Recoveryand Development Program. This includes various priority policies to supportwomen and girls in healthcare, education, employment, income, and violenceprevention. In addition, Vietnam is actively improving policies and laws tofacilitate women’s participation in the economy, and in the development ofSMEs. Women’s involvement in areas with high added value such as science andtechnology, high-quality agriculture, among others, is encouraged via effectivesolutions.
At this year’s Summit, let us share our best practices and inspiring storiesfrom our countries, so that we may learn from one another and spread thepositive energy and success stories for the sake of the community.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Government and people of Thailand for theirwarm hospitality. Thank you, Madam President, for your deep affections and yourinvitation to Vietnam to this Summit. And thank you for giving me theopportunity to speak at this important Opening Ceremony.
May our Summit be a great success.
Thank you./.
VNA
