 Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Namaskar. I welcome you all to Gandhinagar, the city named after Mahatma Gandhi on its day of formation. I'm delighted that you have the opportunity to visit Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. Today, the whole world is talking about climate change, global warming, and urgency to find sustainable solutions. At Gandhi Ashram, you will witness firsthand the simplicity of Gandhi's lifestyle and his visionary ideas of sustainability, self-reliance, and equality. I'm sure you will find it inspirational. You will also get to experience it at the Dandi Khutty Museum an opportunity you should not miss. It will not be out of place for me to mention here that Gandhi's famous Charaka, the spinning wheel, was found by a woman named Gangaben at a village nearby. As you know, from then onwards, Gandhiji always wore khadi, which became a symbol of self-reliance and sustainability. Friends, when women prosper, the world prospers. Their economic empowerment fuels growth. Their access to education drives global progress. Their leadership fosters inclusivity and their voices inspire positive change. The most effective way to empower women is through a women-led development approach. India is making strides in this direction. Friends, India's president, Sri Mati Draupadi Murmu, sets an inspiring example herself. She comes from a humble tribal background but now leads the world's largest democracy and serves as the commander-in-chief of the world's second largest defense force. In this mother of democracy, the right to vote was granted equally to all citizens including women by the Indian Constitution right from the beginning. The right to contest election was also granted on an equal basis. Elected women representatives have been key agents of economic, environmental and social change at 1.4 million. 46% of elected representatives in rural, local bodies in India are women. The mobilization of women into self-help groups has also been a powerful force for change. During the pandemic, these self-help groups and elected women representatives emerged as pillars of support for our communities. They manufactured masks and sanitizers as well as created awareness about infection prevention. More than 80% of nurses and midwives in India are women. They were our first line of defense during the pandemic and we are proud of their achievements. Friends, women's late development has been a key priority for us in India. Around 70% of the loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana have been sanctioned to women. These are loans up to 1 million rupees to support micro-level units. Similarly, 80% of beneficiaries understand that India are women-availing bank grounds for green-field projects. Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, nearly 100 million cooking gas connections have been provided to rural women. Provision of clean cooking fuel directly impacts the environment and improves women's health. The number of women in technical education in the industrial training institutes had doubled since 2014 and nearly 43% of STEM graduates in India, that is science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are women. About one fourth of space scientists in India are women. Behind the success of our flagship programs like Chandrayaan, Gaganyaan and Mission Mars lies the talent and hard work of women scientists. Today, more women are enrolling in higher education than men in India. We also have one of the highest percentage of female pilots in civil aviation. And female pilots in the Indian Air Force are now flying fighter aircrafts. Women officers are being deployed in operational roles and fighting platforms in all our armed forces. Friends, in India and in the global south women play pivotal roles at the backbone of rural agriculture families and as small traders and shopkeepers. Given their close association with nature women hold the key to innovative solutions to climate change. I recall how women led the first prominent climate action in India in the 18th century. The Visnoy community of Rajasthan led by Pujya Amrita Devi started the Chipko movement. It was a movement to hug trees to prevent unregulated logging. Along with several other villagers she laid down her life for the cause of nature. Women in India have also been brand ambassadors for mission life, lifestyle for environment. They reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose base on traditional wisdom. Under various initiatives women are actively getting trained in making solar panels and lights. The solar mamas have been successful collaborators with our partners countries in the global south. Friends, women entrepreneurs are significant contributors to the global economy. The role of women entrepreneurs in India is not new. Decades ago in 1959 few Gujarati women in Mumbai came together to create a historic cooperative movement Sri Mahila Grih Udyog. Since then it has transformed the lives of millions of women and their families. Their most famous product, Lijjat Papad will probably be on your menu in Gujarat. Another success story of our cooperative movement in the dairy sector. This is also powered by women. In the state of Gujarat alone there are 3.6 million women involved in the dairy sector. And there are many, many more such inspiring stories all over India. In India about 15% of unicorn startups have at least one movement founder. The combined value of this women-led unicorn is over 40 billion dollars. However, our goal should be to create a level platform where women achievers became the norm. We must work to remove the barriers that restrict their access to markets, global value chains and affordable finance. At the same time, we need to ensure that the burden of care and domestic work is appropriately addressed. Excellencies, your focus on women entrepreneurship, leadership and education is commendable. I am also glad that you are launching a tech equity platform to enhance digital and financial literacy for women. And I am delighted that under the Indian presidency it has been decided to establish a new working group on women empowerment. Your untimely efforts in Gandhi Nagar will give immense hope and confidence to women around the world. I wish you all the best for a productive and successful meeting. Thank you. Thank you very much.