The Federation Council Speaker attended a plenary meeting of the first Dialogue of Women of Central Asia and Russia.
During a working visit to Turkmenistan, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko took part in a plenary meeting of the first Dialogue of Women from Central Asia and Russia.
Gulshat Mammedova, Speaker of the Mejlis (Assembly, lower house) of the Milli Gengesh (National Council) of Turkmenistan who opened the meeting, greeted the participants and wished them all the best at the forum. “Our Dialogue is designed to build up cooperation, mutual trust and understanding among women and to give them more opportunities to influence decisions on peace, stability and sustainable development,” she said.
Gulshat Mammedova pointed out that women’s actions and innovative ideals were making a major contribution to combating global threats, such as the negative effects of climate change and pollution, and to addressing the issues of socioeconomic, cultural and humanitarian development, healthcare and education.
Valentina Matvienko recalled that the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia was established in late 2020 and since then had become a respected regional platform for discussing the sociopolitical role of women.
“Respect for women is a national value and social principle in Russia and in the Central Asian countries, where women have always been valued as the embodiment of good and mercy, tradition bearers and homemakers,” the Federation Council Speaker said.
According to Valentina Matvienko, the global demand for female leadership and women’s views is growing across the board, while global politics and economics are becoming increasingly more brutal and uncompromising. “The existing system must be thoroughly overhauled,” the Federation Council Speaker noted.
She pointed out that the leaders of the Central Asian states and Russia were energetically promoting the women’s agenda. “Women have many opportunities to become a powerful force in politics, the economy, science, environment and culture,” she said.
Valentina Matvienko added that the Federation Council regularly communicated with many women’s associations, and that direct interaction should be established between representatives of such organisations in Russia and active women in the Central Asian states.
In this world, women play a major role in strengthening international and regional relations and parliamentary diplomacy, the Federation Council Speaker noted. “The Dialogue of Women of Central Asia and Russia will work together with the UN to boost interaction among the female leaders of our countries and to look for new areas of mutually beneficial ties,” she said.
Valentina Matvienko pointed out that on the global stage Russia has always stood out for the development of female leadership and women’s movement, for example, the Eurasian Women’s Forum, which brings together representatives from over 100 countries, including the Central Asian states.
The Federation Council Speaker mentioned the heroic contribution made by the women of the Central Asian states and Russia to Victory in the Great Patriotic War. “We will always revere the memory of the millions of women who fought courageously and heroically against the Nazi invaders,” she said.
According to Valentina Matvienko, the peoples of Central Asia and Russia, united by a common history and neighbourly relations, are working to strengthen trust between our countries. “We have become convinced yet again that the formulation and implementation of a global and regional sociopolitical agenda is impossible without women,” the Federation Council Speaker emphasised.
She said she was confident that the Dialogue platform would help broaden the boundaries of female cooperation and help in finding ways to resolve many issues.
Deputy Federation Council Speaker Galina Karelova noted in her address that it was women from the Central Asian states who proposed holding regular meetings with their Russian colleagues to discuss issues on the global and regional agendas and to boost cooperation in the main socioeconomic areas.
“An important stage in the development of our cooperation was the Eurasian Women’s Forum, which was held for the first time in 2015 at the initiative of the Federation Council Speaker. Since then, the forum has been held every three years, attracted a growing number of participants, and has become one of the most highly respected discussion venues,” the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council noted.
According to Galina Karelova, the forum’s international initiatives are being implemented despite the current geopolitical situation. For example, partner relations with the Central Asian states are growing stronger on the principles of partnership, mutual trust and common interests. The Deputy Speaker proposed organising a special communication platform within the framework of the Eurasian Women’s Forum in order to make the broadest possible use of the creative potential of women in Central Asia.
Other speakers at the plenary meeting included Tanzila Narbaeva, Speaker of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (parliament) of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Natalia Gherman, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, and Narine Sahakyan, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkmenistan.
Delegates from the parliaments of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan spoke about the role of women in international dialogue for peace and sustainable development, maintaining cultural identity, the development of entrepreneurship, and environmental issues.
The Declaration from the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia and Russia, which was adopted following the meeting, noted the achievements of the participating countries in promoting regional and international cooperation in the interests of peace, stability and sustainable development. It also said that one of the Dialogue’s priorities was to find effective methods for the fullest possible realisation of women’s creative and peace-making potential.
The Federation Council Speaker also attended the signing of an Action Plan of the Dialogue for 2022 by the heads of the delegations.
Valentina Matvienko toured an exhibit held at the Dialogue event, visited the main pavilion and national stands, and attended a fashion show and a performance by the Galkynysh National Equestrian Group.
The delegation of the upper house of the Russian parliament comprised Deputy Speakers of the Federation Council Galina Karelova and Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Inna Svyatenko, and First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov.