Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Good afternoon!

It is a great honour to attend today's meeting hosted by Pakistan. I would like to thank His Excellency Mr. Bilawal, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, for chairing this event. My thanks also go to the Pakistani team for their excellent work.  

Women make important contributions to world civilization and are an essential force for social development and progress.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to gender equality and women's development. We have formulated and implemented three cycles of the China National Programs for Women's Development and built a legal system that comprehensively protects women's rights and interests. China has been ranked by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 countries with high performance in maternal and child health. The average life expectancy of Chinese women exceeds 80 years, their level of education continues to rise, and their ability to participate in and contribute to economic and social development has increased significantly. Thus, the development of Chinese women, one-fifth of the world's women population, has been greatly promoted.

Women's exchanges serve as an important link in facilitating exchanges and cooperation between China and Islamic countries. Since the 1950s, women's institutions and organizations in China and Islamic countries have maintained close ties, with exchanges of visiting delegations, building of primary schools and women's exchange and training centers, and delivering of women's vocational skills training. In addition, high-level dialogues, seminars and capacity-building activities have been actively carried out under multilateral frameworks such as the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We are as close as sisters, learning from each other and supporting each other, working side by side to promote national development and rejuvenation, and together creating a beautiful landscape of women's exchange and cooperation between China and Islamic countries.

Distinguished delegates and dear friends,

In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, clearly defined the strategic goals and policy framework for women's development worldwide. In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with more than 80 heads of state and government and representatives from all walks of life, attended the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, and jointly drew up a grand blueprint for women's all-round development. In 2020, President Xi Jinping addressed the UN General Assembly's high-level event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, stressing the need to strengthen global cooperation on the cause of women, and initiated to hold another global leaders' meeting in 2025. These important conferences have yielded fruitful results, shining with the light of multilateralism and collective wisdom, and indicating the direction for future cooperation. By sharing the successful experiences of outstanding Muslim women, the side event hosted by Pakistan today, with the theme of "Women in slam: Understanding the Rights and Identity of Women in the Islamic World", will help further bridge the knowledge gap, enhance mutual understanding and promote common development.

We are willing to further strengthen cooperation with the Islamic countries including Pakistan, expand the scope of cooperation, create more practical initiatives, enhance bilateral and multilateral women's exchanges, and promote opportunities for women around the world to enjoy their lives and realize their dreams, in the pursuit of gender equality, all-round development, and building a community of shared future.

Thank you!