Women are 51 percent of Pakistan’s total population and they cannot be ignored, so the government is working to empower them in order to enhance their role in the economic development of the country. This was said by Madam Shahera Shahid, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting while addressing as Chief Guest the pre-launch ceremony of “Her Hunar Exhibition” at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry being organized by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan on March 4 th  & 5th , 2023 at Pak-China Friendship Centre to promote women-led businesses of north region.

She said that women need a comfortable environment to unleash their potential and stressed that males should encourage and help them in this regard. She appreciated TDAP for organizing a dedicated exhibition for the women entrepreneurs of the north region and assured that her ministry would fully back it. She launched the logo of the exhibition on the occasion.

Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) said that bringing women into the mainstream of economy is very important to achieve sustainable economic growth. He called upon the government to make more conducive policies for women with particular focus on promoting women entrepreneurs so that women could start their own businesses with ease and play an enhanced role in the economic development. Lauding TDAP for organizing women expo, he said that the event will provide them a suitable platform to showcase the potential of their products, development networking, share knowledge & experiences and generate new business leads. He assured that ICCI would fully cooperate with TDAP in such positive initiatives.

Muhammad Naseer, Director General, TDAP Islamabad said that women entrepreneurs of the north region have a lot of potential and the aim of this first- ever dedicated expo is to provide them better exposure and market access. He said that TDAP would try to make it an annual event to promote the women entrepreneurs of the north region.

Rizwana Asif, President, Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the expo would help women entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and assured full support to make it successful. The women entrepreneurs of Chitral, Kalash, D.I.Khan, Gilgit Baltistan, AJK, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal would participate in the expo to display a wide range of products including apparel & home textiles, gems & jewelry, carpets & rugs, food sector, handicrafts, fashion accessories, cosmetics, decorative items, dry fruits etc. The two days exhibition would feature seminars & workshops, cultural performances, food courts, kids’ arena and will be live streamed for Pakistani trade missions and social media.