China-S Asia Business Forum Meeting for Women Entrepreneurs' Cooperation Held in SW China’s Kunming

Meng Xiaosi, deputy secretary of the Leading Party Group, vice-president and member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, attends the meeting and delivers a speech.

The eighth Conference of Cooperation Between Women Entrepreneurs from China and South Asia, on the theme of "Female Entrepreneurship and Regional Cooperation", was held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, on June 7, 2013.

Meng Xiaosi, deputy secretary of the Leading Party Group, vice-president and member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

Li Pei, member of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, gave a welcome speech.

In his speech, Meng said in recent years the economic growth of China and South Asian countries has maintained a good momentum. China is one of the most economically active regions in the world, and has brought positive opportunities and a broader platform for female entrepreneurship in various countries.

Women's entrepreneurship has become an irresistible new trend on the global scale, and meanwhile globalization has also brought severe challenges. In the face of both opportunities and difficulties, only cooperation can achieve a win-win result, said Meng.

The ACWF sincerely hopes that women from China and South Asian countries can seize the opportunity to further strengthen exchanges, deepen understanding, enhance friendship, and work together to promote economic and trade exchanges, achieve mutual benefits and win-win results, so as to make contributions to the economic development of both their nations and the world, added Meng.

Pramilla Rigier, president of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Women Entrepreneurs Council, said in her keynote speech that the economic and social development of south Asian countries now promotes the advancement of women's status, but still faces many problems.

The stereotype of women in society is that they can be workers but not leaders. Given the situation, most women only engage in low-level labor such as the agriculture, and few hold management positions, said Pramilla.

Pramilla also said she hopes that women from China and other countries in South Asia can work together to promote the development of women and the advancement of their social status.

Over 300 people including guests from South Asian countries, well-known female entrepreneurs, representatives from women's federations in Pan-Pearl River Delta region, Chongqing Women's Federation, Tibet Women's Federation and women's organizations in Tanwan, as well as heads of women's organizations in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, attended the meeting.

Participating female entrepreneurs shared their entrepreneurial ideas and successful experiences in their speeches, and discussed how to promote economic and trade cooperation and exchanges among women in the region, the development of women's small and medium-sized enterprises, and female entrepreneurship and employment.

Officials reached a number of consensuses, and reviewed and signed a memorandum of cooperation at the event.

President of the Yunnan Women's Federation He Hongmei said in her concluding remarks that the success of the conference marked another new step in the development of cooperation between women in China and South Asia.

Before the meeting, Meng also met with representatives of female entrepreneurs from South Asia. They had a cordial and friendly exchange.

(Women of China)