Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhhailed women-led businesses as major contributors to economic recovery anddevelopment in Vietnam and the region in his virtual remarks at the secondASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit 2022 on October 12 afternoon.

He reiterated Vietnam’s commitments in cooperating withother ASEAN member states to further promote gender equality and women’sempowerment, contributing to shaping a sustainable, inclusive and resilientfuture of the region and the world at large.

Putting forth a number of recommendations to inspire and unleashwomen’s potential in business, the PM said it is crucial to enable female entrepreneursto sustainably contribute to the national growth by advancing a legal framework facilitating the development of a gender-responsive business environment. He stressedthe need to encourage women to gain access to and participate in the law-policymaking and enforcement.

Gender mainstreaming must be done inclusively, at local,national and regional levels and in all sectors, particularly female-dominated professions,he told the summit, adding that it is also important to enhance resilience ofwomen-led businesses and female entrepreneurs to help them adapt to changingbusiness climate and new trends such as green economy and digitaltransformation.

He later stressed the necessity to raise public awarenessof gender equality and promote women’s empowerment at the national, regionaland global levels in order for the entire society to move “from awareness toaction.”

The ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit was firstly held by Vietnamas ASEAN Chair in 2020. It aims to provide a high-level forum for advancinggender equality and women’s empowerment, and placing women at the centre of effortsto build the ASEAN Community.

Hosted by Cambodia, this year’s summit was themed “Building a More Sustainable,Inclusive and Resilient Future: Unlocking Women’s Entrepreneurship in ASEAN.”/.