Providing equal space for women and girls to thrive will contribute a lot to almost every aspect of development of this amazing city of Port Moresby and the nation as a whole. NCD Governor Powes Parkop alluded this during the first ever-official visit to Papua New Guinea by UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Ms. Christine Arab. Ms. Arab’s first engagement on Tuesday 28th, was at Gordons market which is the largest market ever built in the country and around the Pacific region. Upon her reception, Governor Parkop shared sentiments on issues and challenges women and girls in the city face and highlighted on the progress and efforts taken at different levels of government to create space, give women and girls equal opportunity to thrive. “Women and girls in our city and country have the potential and can contribute better to the success and development of this nation once they feel safe and are given the space to either succeed in doing business or participate equally in decision making at different levels of our government system, “said Governor Parkop. Being an active advocate of Gender Equity, and an advocate against Gender Base Violence at the National level currently as chair of the GBV Committee, Governor Parkop said a lot of effort has been done but not much has been achieved. “In the city, we are doing our best to improve where we can provide the space that our women and girls thrive, and Gordons market is a testament. We have built a world-class standard facility that is designed to allow our women and girls to feel safe when selling their goods to generate income,” Governor Parkop said. In partnership with UN Women through the Safe City Programme aimed at creating safe markets for women and girls, NCDC was able to collaborate with the New Zealand government to co-fund the redevelopment of Gordons market and was completed and reopened in 2019. UN Women as the global champion for gender equality is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women all around the world. They deliver programmes, policies, and standards that uphold women's rights and ensure that every woman and girl live up to their full potential. As the Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific to Papua New Guinea, Ms. Arab’s presence in the country signifies the urgency to invest more efforts towards women and girls in the country. “Through my visit here, I realized that women and girls in Papua New Guinea are vulnerable most of the time but, most especially mothers, are leaders either in their communities or in associations and groups such as markets vendors associations or women’s groups,’’ Ms. Arab said. She said, when given the space for equal participation and the platforms to harness their potentials, women can contribute better to the greater outcomes for this country. “UN women stand ready to work together with the Governor, National Capital District Commission and other developing partners in the space of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment to explore opportunities for women and girls to succeed,” she added. City Manager Ravu Frank when acknowledging the UN Women on their work in the country stated that NCDC will continue to collaborate with them including the developing partners such as New Zealand Government to create a city that is not only safe, but clean healthy and planned for women and girls to thrive. New Zealand High Commissioner to PNG, His Excellency Peter Zwart expressed his gratitude towards the management of Gordons markets since it was re-opened in 2019. “I come to Gordons market every Saturday to buy fresh produce and to see and hear success stories from mothers and women vendors is great,” Zwart said.