In the new era of the nation, Vietnamese women have great opportunities to develop their potentials and creativity. However, they also have to face many challenges.

The Vietnamese Party and State always attach importance to caring for the elderly, including senior women, considering them a critical resource for social welfare and national development, President Luong Cuong told a delegation of distinguished senior women representing over 9 million elderly women nationwide at a meeting in Hanoi on December 6.

A plan to rearrange and streamline the Government's organisational apparatus was finalised on December 5, with eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies to be maintained (with internal changes only), and 14 others to be restructured, rearranged and merged.

As one of the first countries to participate in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Việt Nam has made significant efforts to fulfill its national commitments through various measures aimed at ensuring gender equality in all areas of social life, bringing in many encouraging achievements.

Vietnam ranks 72nd out of 146 countries in the gender equality index this year, while the rate of female representatives in the National Assembly is always high and currently stands at 30.26%.