Regional trade between the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) members’ countries described as poor, which is imperative for the overall economic uplift of this region and in this connection woman entrepreneurs could play a lead role in accelerating the pace of development.

Addressing a presentation about a SAARC funded project on “Network and Capacity Building of Women Entrepreneurs from SAARC Countries (NCBWESC)”, Ms Robeena Amjad President Faisalabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FWCCI) said that one third population of world is living in this region plagued with taboo of gender discrimination.

“The ouster of 50 percent of female population from the process of economic development is the major cause of poverty, illiteracy and obscurantism in this region”, she remarked and said that we must involve women in productive economic activities in addition to preserving their oriental values of extreme respect and dignity for women. She welcomed the project titled NCBWESC and assured that like CPEC it will bring closer particularly the women entrepreneurs from the SAARC member countries through the proposed web portal.

She appreciated the objective of this project and assured that she would be pleased to provide the data of FWCCI members for its display on this web portal. “This portal will be developed by Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (PASTIC)”, she added.

Dr Saima Huma Tanveer Project Director NCBWESC gave a comprehensive presentation and said that the ultimate objective of this project is to promote women entrepreneurs network for advancement of their businesses.

Business Recorder