Keynote Speech
by H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand 
at the Opening Ceremony of ASEAN Women’s Business Conference
“Globalization 4.0 and Beyond: Advancing Women Economic Empowerment through Action and Impact”
20 June 2019, 09.20 - 09.50 hrs.
JW Marriott Hotel, Bangkok

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Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

1. It is a pleasure and honour for me to be here at the Opening Ceremony of the ASEAN Women’s Business Conference. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network or AWEN, especially AWEN Thailand, for hosting this event as a platform for policy dialogue, knowledge and experience sharing, and networking of women entrepreneurs in ASEAN and to further promote economic empowerment for women across the region.
    
2. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate AWEN Thailand on its assumption of the AWEN Chairmanship since May last year which, for several good reasons, coincides with Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.
    
3. ASEAN has been one of the central pillars of Thai foreign policy since its establishment in 1967. With the theme “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability” under our ASEAN Chairmanship this year, we seek to promote ASEAN and its Partners, both within Southeast Asia and in the international community, to move forward together to promote “Sustainability of Things” (SOT) or sustainability in all dimensions.
    
4. To achieve such a goal, two sides of a coin must complement each other: one side is peace and stability; and the other side is development.  These will help to drive the ASEAN Community forward, as well as to realise a truly people-centred Community that leaves no one behind and looks to the future.
    
5. Since the assumption of the ASEAN Chairmanship on 1^st January this year, good progress has been made on various issues, not only in the area of political-security but also on the issues of marine debris, illegal wildlife trade, as well as some advancements in concluding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP.  This progress will be highlighted at the 34^th ASEAN Summit that will take place this weekend.
    
6. However, all that we have aspired and aimed to achieve will not be possible without the support from all ASEAN women who, as the proverb goes, are sustaining “half of the ASEAN sky”. Therefore, I strongly believe that together with AWEN, we can contribute to fulfilling our aspirations to advance partnership for sustainability.
    
7. Now let us talk about what Thailand aspires to when it comes to women economic empowerment. Women’s entrepreneurship has been on the rise over the past decades in the region. While there remain multiple and complicated barriers to starting and conducting business across many countries in the region, these barriers tend to be higher for women than men. Thailand supports every endeavor to advance women’s economic empowerment. This is not only to close gender gaps but also to increase women’s ability to participate in the economy, which is good for growth and sustainable development.  
    
8. Under Thailand’s 20-year National Strategy 2018 - 2037, Thailand has put in place a plan to promote gender equality and women’s role in social development as part of the strategy for social cohesion and just society. In the 20 years timeframe, Thailand aims to empower women in the economy by increasing the opportunity to work, enhancing their potential, knowledge and skills, and promoting women leadership. But beware, it is not always the finish line that we all should focus, but the joy of life is truly in its journey.
    
9. Thailand has adopted many instruments helping to promote gender equality and empowerment of women, for example, the current National Women’s Development Strategy 2017 - 2021, the Gender Equality Act 2015, to name a few.

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

10. Research by Grant Thornton, a surveyor firm, in 2019 found that 94% of companies across ASEAN reporting at least one woman in a senior management role, compared to 87% worldwide, outperforming the global average in several indicators. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement. Truth be told, 100% of congregation here is soon or certainly already empowered in varying degrees because you are all successful business women and that certainly would make a good foundation for women in general.
     
11. Even when some women in ASEAN are playing an important economic role as business owners and entrepreneurs across many sectors, especially at the micro and small enterprise level, they are, too, facing challenges from the 4^th Industrial Revolution. The economic landscape is being transformed by technological and digital disruption that create new business models as well as the rise of AI, artificial intelligence.
     
12. As the digital revolution becomes more embedded across industries, possessing skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM in short, would be an asset. This presents an opportunity for women entrepreneurs to equip themselves with STEM skills and take advantage of the 4^th Industrial Revolution.
     
13. I therefore congratulate AWEN on this timely Conference on “Globalization 4.0 and Beyond”, with a strong focus on action and impact needed to empower women in this new digital world with financial inclusion, digital literacy and skills for innovative start-ups and MSMEs.  
     
14. AWEN is one of the important achievements by the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) and efforts of ASEAN in empowering women can also be shown in a number of documents adopted by ASEAN Leaders. Worth mentioning here are the following 3 documents, the Ha Noi Declaration on the Enhancement of Welfare and Development of ASEAN Women and Children adopted in 2010, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Elimination of Violence Against Children in ASEAN adopted in 2013 and its Regional Action Plan
    adopted in 2015. Last, the Action Agenda on Mainstreaming Women’s Economic Empowerment in ASEAN adopted in the Philippines in 2017. 
     
15. The empowerment of women in economic aspects would not only help ASEAN in its path of Community-building process but also help gear toward the achievement of the United Nation 2030 Global Agenda or as known as Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal Number 5 on gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls and Goal Number 10 on reduced inequalities.
     
16. Gender equality has been a priority for ASEAN for more than 30 years when the Declaration of the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region was adopted right here in Bangkok on 5 July 1988.  This Declaration contains ASEAN action points for women, and how women empowerment would serve as a regional catalyst for all three pillars of the ASEAN Community. Gender mainstreaming and promotion of economic empowerment of women are reflected in key ASEAN policies, in particular the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprints.  Most importantly, economic empowerment of women was seen as critical to ensuring that no one is left behind in the ASEAN Community-building process.
     
17. To sustain the momentum and further advancing women economic empowerment in the ASEAN region, it is necessary to promote further dialogue and collaboration amongst its sectoral bodies and external partners as well as other stakeholders to address such issues as financial inclusion, re-skilling, market access, and so on.
     
18. But certainly, what matters most is never take people for granted. When opportunity arises to see someone you care about, just do it. At the end of the day, people matter most, more than things or issues.
     
19. To conclude, I would like to commend AWEN for providing a platform for women entrepreneurs to share their best practices and exchange knowledge as well as experiences which would help realise an ASEAN Community for all.
     
20. I wish the ASEAN Women’s Business Conference great success. Thank you.