Ministry of Women’s Affairs has been organising on Oct. 13-14 via videoconference the 1st Forum on Women, Peace and Security, a side event of the 13th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM13) to be hosted by Cambodia in November this year.
The virtual event was presided over by H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and H.E. Mrs. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Affairs, with the participation of representatives from 51 partner countries, and two institutional partners (the EU and ASEAN Secretariat).
According to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the two-day forum is aimed to facilitate dialogue and share experience and best practices between countries in Asia and Europe in carrying out the women, peace and security agenda; to show the progress of Cambodia in women, peace and security process, history of women’s participation in mine clearance and peacekeeping as well as strategies and developments in combating gender-based violence and impact of COVID-19 on women; and to seek support in creating other women-related side events at all future ASEM Summits.
H.E. Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn said Cambodia proudly hosts the Asia-Europe Forum on Women, Peace and Security – one of the side events of the 13th ASEM Summit. “We are also proud to be ranked 13th among 122 nations in terms of contribution of our brave women in peacekeeping operations, while the numbers of women deminers and women in the labour force have been growing. This is not at all a coincidence, but rather a vision embraced by the Royal Government of Cambodia to empower our women and their role in society,” he underlined.
In a recent interview with AKP, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs H.E. Mrs. Kheng Samvada expressed her optimism that the 1st Asia-Europe Forum on Women, Peace and Security will be a useful platform for all.
According to the secretary of state, 25 years since its foundation, ASEM has never held such a platform. It took so much time and effort to liaise and convince especially the ASEM Secretariat and the 53 partner countries and institutional partners to include the Forum on Women, Peace and Security as a side event of ASEM13 and the next ones, and Cambodia made the historic move.
Other side events of the ASEM13 include the 11th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP11), the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival, the 1st Asia-Europe Economic and Business Forum (AEEBF1), the ASEF Young Leaders Summit, and the 10th ASEF Editors’ Roundtable (ASEFERT10).
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press