Video: Secretary Clinton's Remarks to the APEC Women's Entrepreneurship Summit

Remarks to the APEC Women's Entrepreneurship Summit

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Gifu, Japan

October 1, 2010

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A video message is available here: State.gov and YouTube

Welcome to the first-ever APEC Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit.

All of you are innovators, leaders, and problem-solvers – women who are helping to reshape the world with your entrepreneurial talents and your energy. Women like you are essential to fulfilling the promise of this new century. We cannot achieve peace, prosperity, security, or any of our other shared goals without the full partnership and participation of women around the world.

That’s why gender equality is a focus of our foreign policy agenda, at the State Department and in our government. President Obama is committed to promoting entrepreneurship to seed broader economic progress, especially for women, because enhancing women’s economic opportunity spreads the benefits of growth more widely. This is at the heart of APEC’s Growth Strategy for the Asia-Pacific region.

And I thank the Government of Japan and all the sponsors and supporters of this conference for highlighting the many contributions of women entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region. I look forward to welcoming you to the United States next year for the 2011 APEC meeting, and to continuing our work together to open the doors of opportunity for more women and all people across the region.

Thank you, and have a wonderful summit.