Friday, 9 February 2018
MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT XHAFERI AND THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF EUROPEAN WOMEN'S LOBBY, MRS. JOANNA MAYCOCK
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Talat Xhaferi met with the Secretary General of the European Women's Lobby, Mrs. Joanna Maycock.
At the beginning of the meeting, President Xhaferi welcomed Mrs. Maycock and expressed pleasure from the meeting. He underlined that the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia is inclusive and open, emphasizing that for the purpose of promoting gender equality and representation, the Assembly has adopted a law according to which 40% of the total number of MPs shall be women MPs. Regarding this, President Xhaferi underlined that during the last 10 years the number of women MPs has increased who also equally participate in the committees and working bodies of the Assembly.
The Secretary General of the European Women's Lobby, Mrs. Joanna Maycock congratulated the commitment and progress of the Assembly in the area of gender equality and representation and presented the goals of the European Women's Lobby. She underlined that its main goals are strengthening the capacities of women MPs, strengthening gender equality and the Women Parliamentarian's Club. Regarding this, Mrs. Maycock emphasized that it is necessary to work in the field of legislation for the promotion of gender equality, underlining that the quota for increasing the representation of women MPs in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia is a positive example that can serve to other countries as well.
The President of the Assembly, Mr. Talat Xhaferi underlined that the establishment of Women Parliamentarian's Club and the appointment of a woman, Mrs. Cvetanka Ivanova as the Secretary General of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia are also an advantage in this direction.
At the end of the meeting, both interlocutors agreed that it is necessary to intensify the cooperation and exchange of experiences among Women Parliamentarian's Club of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and the Women Parliamentarian's Club of the European Parliament with the purpose of providing an equal gender representation in all institutions.