Arancha Gonzalez

Sustainable production and consumption matter immensely to the people I meet every day as head of the International Trade Centre, which works with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them boost growth and job creation by improving their competitiveness and connecting to international markets. ”

Governments around the world are looking for economic growth and job creation. African economies are no exception, with increasing recognition that growth has to be built on a more diversified economic structure in order to make a lasting contribution to development. ”

We often run the risk, when discussing women empowerment, to think that this is about women talking about women with other women, but this is not the point. ”

Governments everywhere have ministries dedicated to women's affairs. I know of only one with a Ministry for Women Empowerment: Indonesia. Charged with the 'realization of gender equality and justice' together with children's well-being, the ministry frames gender equality as a matter of justice. ”

Creating large numbers of decent jobs for young people is critical for achieving overall development objectives, from poverty reduction to better health and education. ”

Consumers need more insight into the goods and services they purchase. Businesses need to produce those goods and services more sustainably. ”

ITC looks forward to working with the chief minister and the government of India to ensure trade leads to impact on the ground. ”

Trade and investment are good for innovation - open economies allow new ideas and technologies to diffuse more quickly from wherever they are created. ”

The representatives of young professionals and woman entrepreneurs deserve seats at the big table to evolve viable, efficient, and sustainable solutions for problems the world is faced with. Without their participation, there will always be a deficit of compassion and innovation. ”

Everything we produce and consume has an impact on the environment, on social fabrics, and on the economy. This impact can be positive or negative and, frequently, some combination of the two. ”