Astana to host Regional Conference on Women’s Empowerment in Afghanistan

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The Regional Conference on Women's Empowerment in Afghanistan will be held on September 5 in Astana. The event was initiated as part of the promotion of the principles of gender equality at the global level. High-level delegations from Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the European Union, India, China, Russia, the United States of America and the United Nations are expected to attend the event, Kazinform cites the Kazakh MFA's press service.

The conference will be held during Kazakhstan's membership in the UN Security Council, within which special attention is paid to the issues of Afghanistan. During the presidency of Kazakhstan in the UN Security Council in January this year, for the first time in eight years, a trip of members of the Security Council to Afghanistan was organized and a corresponding resolution was adopted.

Given the international attention to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan seeks to raise international awareness and support for the specific needs of Afghan women and girls, to advance and expand their rights and opportunities with a view to achieving long-term peace and sustainable development in the country.

From Kazakhstan, Secretary of State Gulshara Abdykalikova, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Defense and Security of the Senate of the Parliament Dariga Nazarbayeva, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kairat Abdrakhmanov, members of the Government and members of the Parliament will take part in the conference.

Among the foreign guests are First Lady of Armenia Nouneh Sarkissian, Vice Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Altynai Omurbekova, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva, Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan Svetlana Artikova, Minister of Preschool Education of Uzbekistan Agregina Shin, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Azerbaijan Sahil Babayev, Minister for Women's Affairs of Afghanistan Dilbar Nazari, Minister of Information and Culture of Afghanistan Hasina Safi, High Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia Tatiana Moskalkova and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Head of the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Natalia Gherman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Strategic and Crisis Communications Adrienne Ross, delegations from other countries. Tawakkul Karman, a Yemeni human rights activist, journalist, and politician, who became the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, is expected to deliver a speech.

Within the conference, it is planned to adopt an outcome document, which will be aimed at empowering women in Afghanistan in business, education, and access to digital technologies.