Events

Galina Karelova: Very important bilateral documents signed at the Second Eurasian Women's Forum

Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council took part in the ceremony to sign a number of agreements reached at the Second Eurasian Women's Forum


A number of bilateral documents were signed during the Second Eurasian Women's Forum.

Those included a framework declaration on cooperation projects in the creative industry and folk arts and crafts, as well as events involving online trading platforms; a protocol on cooperation between the Committee of Rural Women of the Agriculture Ministry's Interdepartmental Coordination Council on Sustainable Development of Rural Territories and the German Rural Women's Association; a memorandum on relations between the autonomous non-commercial organisation Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the Swiss Business Women’s Union; and a memorandum of understanding between Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the WorldSkills Foundation.

According to Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Galina Karelova, each of the agreements has a vast potential. ”In the first place, they are important as regards boosting women's employment and competitiveness. Women's positions in technical jobs, as well as in the high tech sector, are so far considerably weaker than men's. This is typical of all countries. For instance, in Russia women total a little over 25 percent in the IT industry. The agreement signed between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the WorldSkills Foundation aims to promote technical professions among young and adult women and facilitate attracting them in the labour market sectors that have a high demand for the labour force and engineers,“ she said.

According to the senator, women's positions in the labour market will be also reinforced by cooperation in the creative industry and folk arts and crafts, which will be developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and UNIDO. ”Today, creative industries are becoming a new economy sector and are advancing rapidly. In Russia, creative industries' share in GDP amounts to six percent already. On the one hand, the agreement with UNIDO will create an opportunity to utilise best global practices for developing creative industries in our country. On the other hand, this agreement, just like cooperation with the Swiss Business Women’s Union, will provide new export opportunities for Russian women entrepreneurs, who have a lot to offer to foreign markets, as has been conclusively proved by the exhibition during the forum,“ Galina Karelova said.

The Deputy Speaker also stressed the importance of cooperation in developing rural territories. ”The areas of cooperation stipulated in the Protocol signed with the German Rural Women's Association include cooperation and developing small and medium businesses in rural areas, as well as developing social policy in rural areas, exchanging advanced practices of improving women's working and living conditions, and launching programmes aimed at promoting agricultural professions among the youth,“ she noted.