Our Correspondent/ JAIPUR
Two-day meeting of BRICS women parliamentarian’s forum began today in Jaipur. In her inaugural address Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said, government has chosen the path of removing poverty by empowering the poor.
She said women are most vulnerable and therefore are most at risk from climate change. She said the BRICS countries need to strengthen cooperative mechanisms and to innovate new institutional means for meeting the needs of the member countries.
Mrs Mahajan said that India’s development agenda was mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals. She highlighted a few recent initiatives launched by India for promoting inclusion and social advancement, such as `Jan Dhan Yojana’/ `National Mission on Financial Inclusion’, the Beti Bachao/ Beti Padhao /scheme to promote Girl Child and educate Girl Child, Make in India, Skill Development, Digital India, etc.
Observing that BRICS is a relatively young group, Mahajan said that the BRICS countries together comprise 43 percent of the world’s population, and contribute 37 percent of the world GDP. As such, the success of the SDGs will be heavily dependent on their successful implementation in the BRICS countries.
She lauded the fact that BRICS has taken impressive strides beginning from a forum for consultation on economic issues of mutual interest to evolving into a group which now has various topical global issues on its agenda. She hoped that during India’s chairmanship, BRICS cooperation will be further strengthened.
Earlier, T R Modise, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, South Africa said, this forum will help to have one voice as women Parliamentarians to organise, mobilise, motivate and advance women.
She said the responsibility of women parliamentarians to interrogate intentions, efforts and progress made by their respective Government in achieving the 17 SDGs and their 169 target areas.
Acknowledging that the participation of women in the public life has increased, she felt that women are still not adequately represented in politics, economy and other important centres of power-security, financial, energy and markets. She said that Members of Parliament have to face up to the daunting task of transformation.
In his welcome address, Speaker of Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha, Kailash Meghwal emphasized that in the coming years, we need to ensure elimination of poverty and hunger, quality education, availability of clean water and sanitation, gender equality and dignified living conditions for all through the achievement of these development goals.
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhra Raje, Professor Dorinha Seabra Rezende, MP (DEM/TO), Head of Delegation, Brazil; Ms. Galina Karelova, Deputy Chairperson of Council of Federation, Head of Delegation, Russia; Ms Wen Ma, Member of Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, Chairperson of the International and Judicial Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, Head of Delegation, China; other delegates from BRICS countries, including India; and other dignitaries also attended the seminar.
43 Parliamentarians from BRICS countries including 28 MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, are participating in the meeting where sustainable development goals are being discussed.