SHANGHAI, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing is "not only a commemoration of the past, but also a strategic opportunity to shape the future," said Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank (NDB), during an interview with Xinhua.

"Thirty years after the historic Fourth World Conference on Women, we return to Beijing with a renewed sense of purpose," Rousseff said. "My expectation is that this summit will not be a ceremonial event, but a catalytic moment -- one that reaffirms past commitments and sets new, concrete priorities for the next generation," she added.

Rousseff called for moving "from principles to power -- from promises to policies."

"It is time to address the barriers that still limit women's lives and to create systems that recognize women not as beneficiaries, but as agents of transformation," she noted.

"In a world facing multiple crises, women are not a problem to solve -- they are a solution to embrace," Rousseff stressed. "The Global Leaders' Meeting on Women must reflect that truth -- not only in its declarations, but in the actions it inspires. History is calling once again, and we must answer with courage, clarity and collective will."

Rousseff described the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 as "a landmark moment in our collective fight for gender equality," which resulted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action -- "an unprecedented global commitment to women's rights."

"It shifted the global debate and provided a comprehensive framework for action across 12 critical areas -- including poverty, education, health, violence, political participation and the environment. Thirty years later, its legacy remains not only relevant but essential. The platform is not only a historical document -- it is a living roadmap," said Rousseff.

Despite persistent challenges, Rousseff said women are not waiting for change but are leading it. "Empowering women is fundamental to building a just, sustainable and peaceful future. The spirit of Beijing calls us not to commemorate, but to act with the urgency that gender equality demands," she added.

As president of the NDB established by BRICS countries, Rousseff highlighted the role of multilateral financial institutions in promoting inclusive and gender-just development.

"Finance is not neutral," she said. "We must not only finance growth, but also shape the kind of development we pursue -- one that is inclusive, sustainable and equitable."

As the NDB's first female president, Rousseff said the bank has been supporting projects that enhance women's access to clean water, energy, transport and housing -- particularly in rural and underserved communities.

"Where we invest -- and who we invest in -- shapes the future," Rousseff said. "If we are to realize the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, financial institutions must align their work with the lived realities of women. The NDB has the potential to lead this shift -- not only by funding projects, but by transforming the very logic of development itself," she added.

China's Global Governance Initiative (GGI) comes at a critical moment in history, according to Rousseff. "By promoting a community with a shared future for humanity, the initiative shifts the paradigm away from domination and unilateralism toward partnership and collective progress," she said.

"Progress for women is inseparable from progress for humanity. Guided by this principle, the GGI has the potential to help build a multipolar, peaceful and just world, where gender equality is not a peripheral concern, but a central commitment," Rousseff said. ■