On the 12th, the 2nd APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) began and the Women and the Economy Forum was inaugurated.

Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2)

The Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM2) began having as participants the high representatives of the APEC economies, Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

During the first two sessions, the economies addressed cooperation agenda related matters for economic, trade and connectivity integration. The director of Policy Support Unit (PSU) also presented a report on economic tendencies in the Asia-Pacific region, with expectations of a short-term improved growth in the region, with moderate inflation, emphasizing the importance of strengthening resilience in supply chains.

The visiting officials expressed their gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality of Peru and the Arequipa city as host of the SOM2 events.

Public-Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy, Creating Change: Women’s Economic Empowerment

The Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations of Peru, Angela Teresa Hernández Cajo, at the opening of the Women and the Economy Forum, before the 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific region representatives, stated: “If us women are not included, our economies are missing out on the potential of almost 50% of their population.”

At the “Public-Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy, Creating Change: Women’s Economic Empowerment”, Hernández added that Peru has a National Gender Equality Policy that promotes women’s access to economic and productive resources and an Financial Inclusion for Women Advisory Committee, led by the sector, and it is also leading the Women Entrepreneur Strategy, which provides information on credit access and seed funds.

The event included a dialogue on “Information and Communication Technologies” for a free-of-violence generation throughout its whole life, with the main objective of addressing innovative technological solutions to combat violence against women. Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations of Peru specifically stated that her sector in charge implemented the “Yanapp” application for the prevention of violence against women and emphasized that technology has opened new frontiers in the fight against gender violence and has a key role to play in transforming the way we address and combat violence against women and girls.