Symposium on women entrepreneurship starts today

A four-day symposium on South Asia Women's Entrepreneurship will begin in the city today in support of the New Silk Road vision of enhancing regional economic integration and advancing economic growth, peace, and stability.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni will inaugurate the symposium to be hosted by the US Department of State at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel at 9:00am.
US Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne S Verveer, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Robert O Blake, and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena will also speak.
The symposium will address 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 programme 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, the US embassy in Dhaka said in a statement yesterday.
Around 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.
Senior representatives of the government of Bangladesh are also expected to participate.
The symposium will serve as a platform to catalyse follow-on activities to advance women's entrepreneurship in the region and beyond and build stronger economic ties between South and Central Asia, according to the statement.