Valentina Matvienko opened the Forum of Women Parliamentarians

Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation  Valentina Matvienko, addressed the opening session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians held in St. Petersburg within the 137^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

“The progress of the recent years in the improvement of the status of women in the world would not have been possible without the consistent work of parliaments, including at the forums of women parliamentarians within the Inter-Parliamentary Union”, stressed Valentina Matvienko. According to her, the first Eurasian Women’s Forum, which took place in St. Petersburg in 2015 under the auspices of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, also demonstrated the high efficiency of the coordinated actions of women leaders.

Today, women can contribute to the development of parliamentary diplomacy and the mitigation of international tensions. Women should use their growing influence to address the most adverse and relevant world issues, such as terrorism, global poverty, spread of illegal migration, food and environmental security risks”, added Valentina Matvienko.

Valentina Matvienko called on women parliamentarians to support the initiative proposed by the Russian Federation, along with the draft resolution on the establishment of the International Day of Parliamentarism.

Galina Karelova, Vice Speaker of the Federation Council, which was elected Chairperson of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, noted that in the recent years the Forum had become an essential element and a good tradition of the IPU Assembly. “The Forum will give a new impetus to the development of international cooperation of women and build traditions for the promotion of gender equality,” stressed Galina Karelova.

IPU President Saber Chowdhury welcomed the participants and guests of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, noting that women accounted for over 30 per cent of the total participants of the 137^th Assembly. “This is the first time we have such a big number of women speakers.”

“The Forum plays a huge role in the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,” added Saber Chowdhury. According to the IPU President, democracy is possible only when men and women equally participate in all processes. At the same time, IPU President stressed that " talking about gender equality is not enough: we must also support this process with concrete actions and steps".