Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council participated in the XI Forum of Women Speakers of Parliament

Valentina Matvienko, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, participated in the XI Forum of Women Speakers of Parliament in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The event was jointly organized by the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The conference focused on the theme of Rethinking the Future: Global Trends Shaping Our World. This event brought together over 30 women Speakers and Vice-Speakers of parliaments and inter-parliamentary associations.

“In our complicated world, political and inter-parliamentary dialog, especially the dialog of women parliamentarians is facing the strong momentum it has never seen before. We are making every effort to build a more just world”, noted Valentina Matvienko. The Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council also emphasized the high number of participants willing to attend the Forum adding that “the Federal National Council of the UAE has drawn up a comprehensive agenda”. She also expressed confidence that a declaration of the Unity for Building the Future for an Improved World would be signed as a result of the fruitful dialogue.

According to the Chairperson's women MPs can undertake steps aimed at directing the course of events to a constructive track. This means, inter alia, strengthening of security and establishing a mutually beneficial cooperation. However, along with the confidence that women should be empowered to discuss political issues at all levels more widely, “we should not forget our august mission of being wife and mother, preserving home, and bringing up children”, mentioned Valentina Matvienko. “Today`s humanity lacks goodness and mercy. We can introduce more humanism to politics”.

According to Valentina Matvienko the Eurasian Women`s Forum held in St. Petersburg in 2015 strongly reaffirms women's potential. In particular, the Forum demonstrated the capacity of women politicians to take ownership of future growth of their countries.

The discussion held in St. Petersburg may further develop at the 137^th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in 2017. Valentina Matvienko invited her colleagues to participate in this event and noted that she would be glad to meet with them in her hometown.