Shen Yueyue, Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the All-China Women's Federation, delivers a remark speech online on June 10, 2021, during the opening ceremony of the Third Shanghai Cooperation Organization Women's Forum. [Photo/womenofchina.cn]

At the invitation of President of the Tajikistan Women and Family Affairs Committee, Shen Yueyue, Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), delivered a remark speech online on June 10, 2021, during the opening ceremony of the Third Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Women's Forum. The forum was hosted by Tajikistan.

Shen noted Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that friendship among people is a fundamental power for advancing world peace and development and a basic premise for achieving cooperation and win-win relations. Shen also noted women have demonstrated unique advantages in passing on friendly traditions and promoting people-to-people connectivity among various nations.

In recent years, Shen added, communications and cooperation on women's issues by the SCO have continuously deepened, a mechanism on women's exchanges has been established, and new platforms for carrying out practical cooperation have been created. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the beginning of 2020, ACWF has taken action with sisters from SCO countries to spread the confidence of combating the disease, harness strength in epidemic prevention and control and to write a new chapter in supporting each other in the battle.

Since the birth of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party has strived for gender equality and in so doing has led hundreds of millions of women in the fight for liberation and in achieving development and living better lives. In particular, since the 18th CPC National Congress held in 2012, historic progress has been reached in Chinese women's undertakings and long-term development has been fulfilled in various fields, such as women's health, education, employment and social security, Shen said.

Shen shared stories that reflected people-to-people connectivity between China and SCO countries as well as women's cooperative efforts to fight COVID-19. Shen called on women of SCO countries to continue implementing the consensus reached by State leaders, upholding the Shanghai Spirit, deepening mutual learning of civilizations, enhancing good-neighborliness friendship, promoting unity and cooperation and ensuring the concept of cooperation takes root in people's hearts.

Shen also suggested SCO countries take actions to pay attention to women's needs, enhance women's empowerment, put equality between men and women into practice, and raise the speed of fulfilling the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Platforms should be built to ensure closer communications among women and youth, advance people-to-people connectivity, enhance the building of the Belt and Road Initiative, and make greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Shen added.

Matloubkhon Sattoriyon, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Kalirova, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia, Lazzat Ramazanova, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Family and Demographic Policy under the President of Kazakhstan, and SCO Secretary-General, Vladimir Norov, delivered speeches during the opening ceremony. Nearly 100 representatives from all walks of life of SCO countries attended, either online or offline.

The opening ceremony of the Third Shanghai Cooperation Organization Women's Forum is held on June 10, 2021. [Photo/womenofchina.cn]