Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Dhaka is hosting the South Asia Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium in support of the USA's New Silk Road vision for enhancing regional economic integration and advancing economic growth, peace, and stability keeping Afghanistan in the forefront.
The symposium began on Saturday at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital and will continue till December 11, addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by women-owned small and medium sized enterprises and create cross-border linkages between women entrepreneurs and leaders throughout South Asia.
The four-day program will focus on several key themes, including empowerment through entrepreneurship and trade, the role of women in technology and economic development, and factors that create an enabling environment for women's entrepreneurship and governance.
Approximately 120 participants from across South and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as well as representatives from outside the region, will attend the symposium.
Participants will include women entrepreneurs, other private sector leaders, and senior government officials.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, U.S. Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne S. Verveer, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Robert O. Blake, and U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W. Mozena will deliver remarks at the Symposium on Sunday morning.
Senior representatives of the Government of Bangladesh are also expected to participate. The symposium will serve as a platform for catalyzing follow-on activities to advance women's entrepreneurship in the region and beyond and build stronger economic ties between South and Central Asia.
The New Silk Road Strategy is announced by Hillary Clinton in India in July 2011. The new approach intends to regional integration for economic benefits and greater mobility of people in south and central Asia, with Afghanistan as its hub.
BBN/SSR/AD-08Dec12-8:30 pm (BST)
