MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. The BRICS Women's Forum will be held for the first time within the Fourth Eurasian Women's Forum from September 18 to 20 in St. Petersburg, Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian Parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.

"As part of the fourth forum, we plan to hold the BRICS Women's Forum for the first time. You know that Russia is chairing BRICS this year. This BRICS Women's Forum will present both the results of existing projects and new initiatives, which will strengthen partnerships between the BRICS member countries, including on the women's agenda," Matviyenko said at a meeting of the organizing committee of the Fourth Eurasian Women's Forum.

Matviyenko specified that the forum will be held from September 18 to 20 in St. Petersburg. She noted that even though the organizers still have eight months to prepare, it is necessary to work out a clear concept for the forum and discuss key organizational issues now. "We have a great responsibility, including because Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin always pays personal attention to the work of our forum, and always participates in person," she emphasized.

The speaker also said that the preliminary theme of the forum was designated as "Women for confidence-building and global cooperation." "I am sure that female leaders from all over the world have something to say on this topic. This means that the widest possible application campaign should be organized, the most authoritative speakers should be invited. Of course, we are counting on fuller representation from the countries of the global South and East. Certainly, in order for the forum to expand its geography even further, we need to use the most advanced technologies for possible remote participation from anywhere in the world," the senator said.

Besides, as Matviyenko noted, on March 5-6, the All-Russian Women's Forum "Women: Preserving Traditions - Developing Russia" will be held on the site of the Russia International Exhibition and Forum. All regional stands at VDNKh will organize interactive events dedicated to the achievements and role of women in the socio-economic development of the regions. I have no doubt, we will do all we can here, that the All-Russian Women's Forum will be a great success and will become, I would say, an important prologue to the fourth Eurasian Women's Forum," she said.

Due to the fact that this year has been declared by the Russian President as the Year of the Family, as the speaker noted, one of the thematic sessions of the forum could be devoted to the issue of protecting traditional family values and supporting motherhood and childhood. "If you can offer additional initiatives, we are open to them. We are waiting for interesting proposals from you during the discussion," Matviyenko addressed the participants of the organizing committee.

Participation of the Labor Ministry

First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security of Russia Olga Batalina, in turn, noted that the program of the Eurasian Women's Forum will begin as usual several months before the main events with a series of regional industry events.

In addition, according to her, several BRICS events are planned to be held in Moscow, Kazan, Sochi on the lines of the Labor Ministry. "These are two meetings of the working group on employment, this is a seminar on population, a meeting of ministers of labor and employment. <...> We propose to hold a face-to-face meeting of BRICS ministers on the fields of the Fourth Eurasian Women's Forum. We have already personally invited BRICS representatives to St. Petersburg," she explained.

Batalina added that a lot of work is now being finalized to establish a unified status and social guarantees for large families at the federal level. "After the adoption, we will have to do a lot of work at the regional level to update essentially the entire regulatory framework, to discuss with communities of large families the best approaches for their subsequent consolidation," she specified.