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Asian women dominate international summit in Istanbul

06 May 2011 [11:08] - TODAY.AZ
Asian participants made a strong showing at a key women’s summit in Istanbul, reflecting Asia’s rising clout in global affairs, while the turmoil in North Africa appeared to have kept many people from that region away.

More than a third of the 1,000 female participants in the 2011 Global Women Summit, dubbed the "Davos for Women," are from the Asian Pacific region. Host country Turkey has the highest number of participants, 200, in the event, which is being held in Istanbul from May 5 to 7 and has drawn attendees from 81 countries.

The Asian contingent, comprising mostly top-level officials and entrepreneurs, is led by the Chinese delegation, with 69 participants.

"More than a third of participants are from the Asia Pacific region. This reflects [the fact] that the center of gravity in terms of global economy has shifted from the West, from Europe and the United States, to the East," Irene Natividad, the president of the meeting, said in her opening speech Thursday.

She added that the large number of participants from countries in this region underscored that point.

The Chinese delegation was followed in size by the delegation from Malaysia, with 65 participants. The next-largest groups were from the United States, Vietnam, Spain, Mongolia, Korea, Bangladesh and South Africa.

Participation from countries in North Africa was not at the expected level, however, according to Natividad. "Even though we have delegations from Tunisia, Oman, Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries, they are not here in the numbers that we had expected," she said, adding that this was primarily due to the political unrest in the region.

"We hope that in the next year’s summit we will be able to see more participants from these countries, as we have been able to in the past," Natividad said.

The summit president also said Turkey could be a model both economically and politically for the Arab states in the Middle East and North Africa that are now challenging their leaders.

Entrepreneurs make up the largest group of participants in the summit, which shows that "entrepreneurship is the biggest driver for women’s economic opportunities worldwide, whether in Armenia or the United States," Natividad said. She added that the number of female entrepreneurs participating in the event has been increasing at each summit.

This year’s summit kicked off Thursday morning with a Ministerial Round Table, where about 35 ministers with different portfolios were represented, including those from Armenia, Mongolia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea and Spain.

"The objective of this summit is to bring together women leaders from all over the world from all sectors with a common vision of expanding women’s economic opportunities globally," Namibia’s first lady, Penexupifo Pohamba, said at the opening ceremony.

Turkish figures including first lady Emine Erdoğan and ministers Selma Aliye Kavaf, Nimet Çubukçu and Mehmet Şimşek will be also joining the summit.

A Youth Forum will be held during the three-day event to bring together young female business leaders to exchange views and experiences and create links for future cooperation. "The young will be our bridge to the future, the ones that will sustain our work in the years to come," Natividad said, emphasizing the importance of this forum.

The event will also include networking meetings that will give participants opportunities to meet with their global counterparts and business-skills trainings for women entrepreneurs that cover how to take advantage of trade agreements, how to use social networking to improve market outreach and how to prepare themselves for market downturns.

Turkey, Malaysia to build bridges

The 65 members of the Malaysian delegation, including high-ranking officials as well as businesswomen and entrepreneurs, aim to build new links with their Turkish counterparts, as well as with businesswomen from other countries worldwide.

"What is important is that you have to start somewhere, and we have started [Wednesday] by having discussions between Turkish and Malaysian [female] entrepreneurs," Malaysian first lady Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansortold the Hürriyet Daily News on Thursday after the summit’s opening ceremony.

"We have got that connection [now] and just have to put it at a higher level. We hope to improve it, to bring it higher so we can work together [in the future]," she added.

Mansor said women’s entrepreneurship has doubled in Malaysia since 2005 and that there are about 800,000 entrepreneurs leading small, medium and large enterprises all over the country. "Policies on women are clear and fair in Malaysia," she said, adding that the government was doing its best to provide women with the capital and skills necessary for their businesses.

She also emphasized the large number of female Malaysians pursuing higher education. "In some of the universities women exceed men in numbers," she said.


/Hurriyet Daily News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/85709.html

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