Sereni, central gender equality in development cooperation

(ANSA) - ROME, 02 DEC - "Gender equality is central to the Italian development cooperation strategy": said Marina Sereni, Deputy Foreign Minister who spoke at the Forum on women within the Med Fora, which opened the Conference Roma Med Dialogues 2021, in its seventh edition and promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ISPI, with ANSA as media partner and running until Saturday 4 December.

    "Gender equality has a positive effect on economic growth, welfare in general and social cohesion", he added, pointing out that when this does not happen there is an increase in "violence and conflict". Sereni recalled the recent adoption of the Guidelines on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, which "testifies to the importance attributed by Italian development cooperation to the role of women", particularly in "crisis contexts, where women are particularly risky ".

    "States have primary responsibility for the full and effective implementation of the Agenda for Women, Peace and Security. Unfortunately, the Mena region is still lagging behind in this sense: only a few countries have adopted a national action plan", but "the trend of recent years is quite encouraging, "said Sereni again.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs also expressed her "deepest appreciation" for the Network of women mediators in the Mediterranean, born four years ago within the Farnesina and which has established itself as "a best practice internationally", developing "fruitful synergies with similar organizations" .

(HANDLE).