More than 150 delegates have met to discuss gender equality and women’s management roles during national development and integration, at an annual conference in Hanoi on September 14.

The delegates are representatives from various ministries, sectors, Party organisations, the National Assembly, localities, the diplomatic corps and international organisations.

When addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Dao Viet Trung said that Vietnam has recorded many achievements in gender equality as well as in developing women cadres.

Many women are involved in industry and business and their role and position have been vastly improved, he added, noting that Vietnam is one of the leading nations in the Asia-Pacific region regarding women’s affairs, as they make up 26 percent of the National Assembly.

According to Trung, after two years in operation, the project to empower women in the public sector in the context of international economic integration has helped hundreds of women working in nearly 50 ministries, sectors, Party organisations, the NA, localities, mass organisations and universities to advance themselves.

The UNDP’s Director in Vietnam , Setsuko Yamazaki, expressed her delight at Vietnam ’s achievements in gender equality and its strong policies at both national and local levels.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines assisting women raising their capabilities as an extremely important field and key to sustainable development, said Setsuko Yamazaki.

The UN also sees gender equality as one of its eight priority issues, to ensure a better world in 2010, she added./.