Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 9 December, a delegation led by Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva took part in the annual meeting of the Dialogue of Women Leaders in Central Asia, held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

It should be noted that the Central Asian Women Leaders Dialogue was founded in December 2020 at the initiative of Uzbekistan in order to support women in the region, increase their political, economic and social role and expand their opportunities to participate in decision-making processes related to sustainable development, and is an unofficial regional platform.

The forum, which was attended by members of the Dialogue of Women Leaders in Central Asia, the UN Development Program, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia, the heads of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia, discussed the work carried out under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan in 2022 in Within the framework of the Dialogue, the issues of gender equality in the region became the focus of discussion. There was also an exchange of views on the definition of priority areas of activity and the institutionalization of this site.

Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva, in her speech at the meeting, stressed that thanks to joint efforts, the Dialogue has become a relevant regional platform and an important platform for a wide and open discussion of gender equality issues by the countries of Central Asia. It was noted that overall development is largely related to issues of gender equality and support for women, depends on the level of global and regional attention, since they play a decisive role as a factor in development and a powerful driving force for prosperity and economic growth.

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia Natalia Gherman noted the systematic approach of Uzbekistan to ensuring gender equality, the effectiveness of the functioning of the National Platform for Dialogue with Women Leaders in Uzbekistan. In her opinion, the experience of Tashkent in this regard makes a practical contribution to further strengthening the activities of the Dialogue.

The women leaders of the Central Asian countries also spoke and focused on the work done during the year within the framework of the Dialogue platform, and positively assessed the results of the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, noting that gender equality is a necessary basis for creating a peaceful, prosperous and stable future for all.

The meeting adopted documents that make it possible to develop and implement new practical measures on the agenda of the meeting, in particular the development of regional cooperation in such areas as the prevention and elimination of violence against women, support for women’s entrepreneurship, as well as strengthening peace, stability and security in the Central Asia.

Since the term of the chairmanship is one year, the issue of its transfer to another state in 2023 was also considered, and the chairmanship officially passed to Kazakhstan.