LAHORE, Oct 03: Pakistan has been awarded the \u201cInternational Prize for Gender Equality in Trade\u201d by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the Pakistan Single Window (PSW)\u2019s innovative \u201cKhadijah Women Entrepreneurship Program\u201d.
\nThe award ceremony was held in September, during the WTO Public Forum 2024.
\nAccording to a press release issued by the PSW here on Thursday, the prize has recently been introduced by the WTO and is given to governments which have implemented result-oriented and impactful initiatives for Gender Equality in Trade.
\nThe PSW \u201cKhadijah\u201d Program has been recognized for its innovative approach towards encouraging more women entrepreneurs to join international trade and is a significant acknowledgment of the government of Pakistan\u2019s efforts towards promoting fair and equitable trade through a combination of inclusive policies and practical measures with a special emphasis on gender equality in the cross border trade sector.
\nAccording to WTO\u2019s communication, PSW\u2019s Khadijah Program, Pakistan\u2019s submission for the prize, stood out from amongst other entries and earned the honor of the award under the top category of \u201cFemale Entrepreneurs\u201d. Other countries that won under respective categories are Spain, Columbia, Chile and Australia.
\nClare Kelly, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the WTO spoke at the WTO Public Forum 2024 award ceremony about why Pakistan\u2019s PSW Khadijah Women Entrepreneurship Program won the International Prize for Gender Equality in Trade.
\nShe highlighted how the Khadijah Program has empowered female entrepreneurs by providing them access to international markets and global opportunities. The program\u2019s alignment with key selection criteria, including promoting women\u2019s inclusion in international trade, fostering digital and financial literacy, facilitating international networking and B2B connections and demonstrating strong potential for replication, was instrumental in its selection.
\nAli Sarfaraz Hussain, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the WTO, extended heartfelt congratulations to Pakistan and PSW for winning the first-ever \u201cInternational Prize for Gender Equality in Trade\u201d at the WTO for its transformative Khadijah Women Entrepreneurship Program. \u201cThis award celebrates the Khadijah Program\u2019s outstanding contributions to advancing women\u2019s participation in international trade through innovative, result oriented strategies and techniques at the national, regional and international level,\u201d he said.
\nAccepting the award for Pakistan, the lead of the Khadijah Program at PSW, Misbah Khatana spoke about its significance to women entrepreneurs.
\nThe program design revolves around three pillars: Access to Information, Access to Financial and Digital Literacy and Access to International Markets and B2B connectivity.
\n\u201cIt is indeed a great honor for Pakistan to receive this prize,\u201dsaid Syed Aftab Haider, CEO PSW in a statement released from his office. \u201d We are thrilled that PSW\u2019s Khadijah Program has been recognized for our efforts in this regard and hope that it will contribute to project Pakistan\u2019s positive image before the international community\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE, Oct 03: Pakistan has been awarded the \u201cInternational Prize for Gender Equality in Trade\u201d by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the Pakistan Single Window (PSW)\u2019s innovative \u201cKhadijah Women Entrepreneurship Program\u201d. The award ceremony was held in September, during the WTO Public Forum 2024. According to a press release issued by the PSW here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-435028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n