Valentina Matvienko has addressed a major forum of female leaders in St. Petersburg
Female leaders representing BRICS member states gathered for the first-ever BRICS Women’s Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday. The event was part of the three-day Eurasian Women’s Forum 2024 (EAWF) that took place in Russia’s former imperial capital this week.
Senator Valentina Matvienko, the head of the Russian Federation Council, hailed the Women’s Forum as one of the key events of Russia’s current chairmanship of BRICS.
“This is a historic moment in the increasing contribution of women to the cooperation between [the BRICS] countries,” said Matvienko.
“We are creating a unique platform that would help maintain dialog between women from BRICS countries,” she added. A meeting of Ministers for Women’s Affairs from the group’s member states also took place on Friday.
The lawmaker went on to say that the proposals put forward at the Women’s Forum will be submitted to the participants of the BRICS summit scheduled to take place in late October in the Russian city of Kazan.
“We want the heads of state to… consider our proposals. I’m sure they will be included in the final documents of the summit,” said Matvienko.
The BRICS group of emerging economies was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became members this year.
Matvienko noted that BRICS “has come a long way over the years,” with the member states now accounting for 36% of global GDP and 46% of the world’s population.
BRICS’ influence will continue to grow, which is evidenced by the fact that 34 more countries have expressed interest in joining the club, concluded the senator.