Yogyakarta, (ANTARA News) - Delegates from 18 countries are ready to participate in the 35th General Assembly of the International Council of Women in Yogyakarta, scheduled to be officially opened by President Joko Widodo on Thursday.

The newest registration data, as of Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m., delegates from 18 countries, including Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Fiji, the Philippines, Finland, India, South Korea, Lebanon, Malta, Papua New Guinea, France, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and Turkey, have arrived in Grand Inna Malioboro hotel, which is managed by a state owned company.

"We are thrilled to be here. Yogyakarta is beautiful and the weather is very nice. This will be a fruitful and exciting meeting," said Secretary of the National Council of African Women Tselane Morolo after collecting her participant card in the Grand Inna Malioboro Hotel here on Wednesday.

The South African delegates sent 10 officials and members of the NCAW to attend the 35th ICW General Assembly, which is held alongside the National Gathering of One Thousand Indonesian Women`s Organizations, scheduled to take place from September 13 to 18.

Aside from the various plenary sessions, the event will also be featuring a number of expert speakers in its discussion panels.

There will be at least four discussion panels, with themes that are derived from the main one, `Transforming Society through Women`s Empowerment`, featuring women figures who are experts in their respective fields, including Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno, Special Advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Akiko Yamanaka, the ICW's permanent representative to the United Nations Mohinder Watson, as well as Malaysian higher education figure Syarifah Hapsah.

The 35th ICW General Assembly is expected to result in a document on the efforts to empower women across the globe, which will be declared at the Village Economic Hall in a community based tourism destination in the Borobudur, Magelang District, Central Java, supported by 20 state owned companies.

The event is held by the ICW and the Indonesian Women`s Congress or Kowani, in cooperation with the Ministry of State Owned Enterprises, in which 35 state owned companies are involved in supporting the event, including Antara News Agency.

Reporting by Azizah Fitriyanti
Editing by Aria Cindyara

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Sri Haryati
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