Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that women are playing an important role in the development of economy and society. <br/><br/>Inaugurating the "Across Barriers-International Business Women's Summit" in Kathmandu this morning, Mr. Deuba said that SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) has made number of mechanism for gender equality and women empowerment. He also said that today the challenge is to translate policies and programmes into practise by all seriousness and sincerity to create conducive atmosphere.<br/><br/>In his address the Secretary General of SAARC, Amjad Hussain B. Sial said that the summit is a platform to promote women entrepreneurship and women empowerment. The two day summit is being organised by South Asian Women Development Forum. The basic objective of summit is to bring together women entrepreneurs from the SAARC, ASEAN, China and some other countries. <br/><br/>The summit is also a regional hub for connecting women SMEs (small and medium enterprises) with public and private sector for exploring opportunities to identify joint business ventures.<br/><br/>It will also offer a unique opportunity for business meetings with the members of the visiting international business delegates and Nepalese women entrepreneurs. <br/><br/>More than 80 delegates from 17 countries including India are participating in the summit.