KARACHI: Co-hosted by Pakistan Women Entrepreneurs Network for Trade (Pakistan WE-NET), World Bank Group, Ministry of Commerce Pakistan and supported by the Australian Government, Pakistan’s 1st Conference on Gender & Trade was organized on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at Marriot Hotel, Karachi.
The aim of the conference was to highlight the gains of closing the gender gap in terms of growth, exports and jobs in Pakistan and raise awareness within the area of women’s economic empowerment. This Conference provided a chance to explore local and global opportunities for access to finance, networks and knowledge sharing.
It featured representatives of national and international business associations, public sector representatives, and business support organizations. The Conference allowed participants to share insights on policy formulation by enabling a public-private dialogue.
Ms. Zoubaida Allaoua, Director Finance and Competitiveness, World Bank Group talked about the importance of mainstreaming gender in trade policy. She said that economic policies such as the trade policy are powerful instruments to translate gender equality aspirations to reality.
Her Excellency Ms. Margaret Adamson, Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, addressed the participants and said that gender equality was essential for successful economic and social development globally and stands at the core of Australia’s foreign policy.
Ms. Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, International Trade Centre from Geneva elaborated on the joint mandate from the World Trade Organization and the United Nations to strengthen and improve the performance of trade and investment support institutions for the benefit of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Dr. Gulden Turktan, Founding Chair, W20 & Member, WBG Gender Advisory Council, spoke on “When Women Work, Economies Win” and stressed upon the role of women for long term sustainability and development of a country’s economy.
An interesting panel discussion on Mainstreaming Gender in Trade Policy – Global Best Practices featured Her Excellency Ingrid Johansson, Ambassador of Sweden; Anne Marshal, Deputy Head of Mission, EU Delegation to Pakistan and Vicky Chemutai, Trade and Regional Integration of World Bank Group. The panel shared insights on government engagement to resolve gender issues as well as public-private policy dialogues.
Other notable panelists included Mohammad Ashraf, Director General Trade Policy, Ministry of Commerce; Dr. Farrukh Iqbal, Dean, IBA; Shazia Syed, Chairperson, Unilever; Bruno Olierhoek, President OICCI and Managing Director, Nestle Pakistan among others. BIZ TODAY REPORT
