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On October 27, Baku (Azerbaijan) hosted the Eurasian Business Forum “SDG Geneva Readings. The Women's Dimension.
Organizers of the event: the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, the Government of Moscow, UN Association of Russia and the Charitable Foundation for Social Initiatives "Peace and Harmony".
The moderators were Deputy Head of the General Secretariat, Chairman of the Council for International Cultural Cooperation of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly, President of the Peace and Harmony Social Initiatives Fund, Honored Worker of Culture of Russia Elmira Shcherbakova and Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shirin Melikova.
The main task of the forum was to discuss and exchange experience in the most relevant aspects of women's leadership for Russia and Azerbaijan.
The Deputy Secretary General - Head of the General Secretariat of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly Svetlana Smirnova delivered an opening speech:
“Before the pandemic, we held the Days of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly in Azerbaijan, the meetings were very fruitful. We are extremely pleased to communicate with colleagues, because a real unity has arisen, we have made many sincere friends in Azerbaijan.”
In her speech, Svetlana Konstantinovna noted the special role of women in today's situation:
“In our world, the main deficit today is the deficit of trust between peoples and States. And above all, a woman can renew this trust. It is very important that in our troubled world the role of a woman is especially relevant. A lot depends on women: peace and tranquility in the family, in society. Women bring harmony to our society.”
The forum has paid particular attention to the issue of gender equality. Natalya Tretyak, First Vice President of JSC Gazprombank, spoke about this in detail:
“Initially, the issue of women's equality is seen as a matter of social justice. And we can observe that quite recently in many countries, women could not start working without the consent of a man. The direction of the women's movement should be aimed at ensuring that women and men have equal rights. If we talk about the Russian Federation, then the issue of gender equality was resolved quite a long time ago - even in the Constitution of 1918, positions on the equality of men and women were enshrined. This allowed our country to accumulate extensive experience in addressing issues of social justice for men and women. And we have created quite comfortable mechanisms that allow a woman to combine the desire to build a professional career with the issues of motherhood.”
In addition, MGIMO Rector, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anatoly Torkunov sent a welcome letter to the forum participants. In his address, he noted:
“In the modern world, topics related to women's leadership and the role of women in the socio-economic, political, business and cultural agenda are of particular relevance. Strengthening the global partnership to strengthen the role of women in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a priority for the international community.”
Of particular interest was the speech of the Doctor of Economics, Professor of the Department of International Business and Customs of the G.V. Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Maria Valovaya. She noted the special role of women in the development of the Eurasian continent.
By the end of the forum, all participants managed to share their experience in the development of women's leadership. And as Elmira Shcherbakova noted:
“We all need to stop and think about the fact that a woman was born in order to create, harmonize and pacify!”