OSCE PA Vice-President Kauma highlights women’s role in addressing pressing global issues at Eurasian Women’s Forum in St. Petersburg

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COPENHAGEN, 15 October 2021 – Following an invitation of President of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Valentina Matvienko, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Pia Kauma (Finland) represented the PA at the Third Eurasian Women’s Forum in St. Petersburg on 13-15 October.

Kauma, who serves as the PA’s Special Representative on Central Asia, actively took part in the forum, which since 2015 has become one of the largest international platforms uniting female leaders from all continents for discussions on the role of women in developing new approaches to solving global problems. The event featured welcoming remarks by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and brought together some 1,500 women leaders, including politicians, entrepreneurs, and public activists from over 100 countries, who engaged in more than 50 thematic discussions.

Speaking at the opening plenary session on 13 October, Kauma stressed that the PA has always actively promoted women’s empowerment and women’s rights as essential elements of the OSCE’s concept of comprehensive security. “Traditionally, women in parliaments have been particularly active on issues of gender equality,” she said. “Today, we should look beyond traditional areas. Women should seek for political positions in all fields including security, foreign policy and the economy. This includes also peace-making.”

Vice-President Kauma argued that no nation can afford to exclude the potential of half of their population and emphasized that more should be done to eliminate gender-based discrimination, violence and stereotypes. Pointing to the opportunity to change the futures of women and girls around the world, she urged for greater co-operation and determination with partners and allies.

On the sidelines of the forum, Vice-President Kauma had a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of parliaments and international organizations, including former Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova, Zinaida Greceanii; Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, Tanzila Narbaeva; Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalia Kochanova; and Natali German, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Asia, Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, to underline the ways for greater engagement with the OSCE PA in addressing world’s most pressing challenges.

In her meeting with Greceanii, Vice-President Kauma discussed the situation in Moldova following the recent elections, and the two sides explored the existing OSCE PA instruments that could be of use to the country’s development. In the meeting with Kochanova, the sides agreed to further utilize OSCE PA as a platform for enhancing dialogue and reaching mutual understanding in the interests of the people of Belarus.

Meeting with Narbaeva, Kauma highlighted the strong co-operation between the OSCE PA and the parliament of Uzbekistan. Kauma welcomed progress of democratic transformations in the country, and the sides discussed the Assembly’s plans for election observation for the presidential election on 24 October.

Kauma also exchanged with Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation and CIS IPA President Matvienko on the margins of the forum, as well as Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev.

Kauma expressed appreciation for Matvienko’s invitation to the forum and reiterated the importance of maintaining an engaging relationship with the Russian Federation in the context of the OSCE PA, which she stressed is an inclusive forum for open dialogue based on mutual respect and shared values.