Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) hosted a forum titled “Fostering Women and Girls’ Financial Resilience” on March 13 at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, spotlighting Taiwan’s efforts to achieve gender parity.
The event was part of 2024 Taiwan Gender Equality Week, which is being staged on the sidelines of the U.N.’s 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Prominent attendees included Hank C.C. Huang, president of the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance, and Thulisile Dladla, deputy prime minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini, as well as other high-ranking officials from Taiwan’s allies and like-minded partners and representatives from international nongovernmental organizations.
Delivering remarks at the forum, New York TECO head James K. J. Lee called Taiwan a pioneer in promoting women’s empowerment and said the country will continue working with global partners to eliminate discriminatory laws and practices and ensure women have access to financial resources.
Dladla, who gave a keynote speech, praised Taiwan for providing women in Eswatini with economic resources, technical support and training. Similarly, Marshall Islands’ Permanent Representative to the U.N. Amatlain Elizabeth Kabua said Taiwan helped her country set up a startup financing fund to provide more opportunities for local women, while Kelley Currie, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, lauded Taiwan as a powerful example showing how women’s empowerment can facilitate a nation’s growth and prosperity.
During the second half of the forum, Huang held a discussion with representatives from allied nations and members of major NGOs.
In a prerecorded video, Dr. Hon. Orando Brewster, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Minister of National Mobilization, social development, family, gender affairs, youth, housing and informal human settlement, made special mention of a joint project with Taiwan that has helped women become financially independent and thus significantly curbed poverty.
Additionally, Carlos Fuller, permanent representative of Belize to the U.N., thanked Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund for supporting female entrepreneurs and expediting post-pandemic economic recovery.
Co-organized by the MOFA and Taipei City-based Foundation of Women’s Rights Promotion and Development, this year’s forum was hosted by Denise Scotto, vice president of the International Federation of Women in Legal Careers. It brought together over 100 participants from multiple countries.
