Two day Islamabad Expo 2015 kicks off
ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Minister for Social Welfare Begum Zakia Shah Nawaz Khan inaugurated the Islamabad Expo 2015, organized by Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce.
More than 150 stalls have been allocated for the exhibitors to display garments, handicrafts, homes décor, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) stuff, Food Street, fun area for kids and much more.
Begum Zakia Shah Nawaz Khan said that government was quite alive to the extra ordinary potential of women entrepreneurs therefore various steps had been taken to empower them.
She said that government was encouraging women participation in all walks of life for sustainable development. This is our national duty to protect the interests of women and provide them equal opportunities without any discrimination to make them valuable citizens and productive members of the society, she said.
She added that the government has taken measures to ensure women’s rights and continuously undertaking reforms so as to enable women to participate in all walks of life with their full abilities.
Speaking at the occasion, Canadian High Commissioner Heather Cruden said that Pakistani women were participating in all sectors and many of them had excelled in their respective fields, not only in Pakistan, but also on the international level.
Founder President IWCCI Samina Fazil, President IWCCI, Dr. Zakia Hashmi, Preisdent KPK CCI Fawad Ishaq, President ICCI, Muzammil Sabri, Chairman Coordination FPCCI, Malik Sohail and other key business leaders also spoke on the occasion and lauded the initiatives of IWCCI aimed at women empowerment and efforts of the government to create an enabling environment for women. From education to armed forces, the women are serving the nation and proving that they are equally strong and able to serve the country.
Allocation of 50 percent share for women in the Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Scheme reflects the government’s trust and commitment to provide them maximum opportunities, they noted. The country could not make progress without providing equal opportunities to women which were half part of society.
It is pertinent to note here that Executive Director Exp Naima Ansari described the sequence of events of the Expo said that IWCCI with a plan started a mega event in the twin cities with the name of Islamabad EXPO in 2011 and had organized three successful events so far”.
While referring to key objectives of Islamabad Expo and Business Conference, she said that objective is to gather women entrepreneurs on a single platform, to encourage women entrepreneur to enroll as members of women chambers, hand holding and counseling of new members, to provide a forum for local and international women entrepreneurs where they can discuss and resolve important issues related to their businesses, to create a network linking women entrepreneurs of Pakistan and abroad.
