IWP held a videoconference with the former President of the Kyrgyz Republic
February 8, 2013, 06:00
On February 8th, the Institute of World Policy held the videoconference with the former President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva.
During the video communication the issues of women’s role in politics and diplomacy, social and political transformation on the post-Soviet space as a result of color revolutions were discussed.
Roza Otunbayeva expressed her position on the effectiveness of the quota system for implementing gender equality and provided the example of women representation in the Kyrgyz parliament that is 23%. According to Ms. Otunbayeva, introduction of gender quotas has to be imperative in order to induce changes on the post-Soviet terrain and to promote equality between men and women.
Also, Rosa Otunbayeva stressed that Kyrgyzstan should join the Customs Union in order to protect its market from economic expansion in China. In addition, an experienced politician and diplomat added that Kyrgyzstan is interested in joining other Central Asian integration projects.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic Chinaliyev Ulukbek Kozhomzharovych attended the videoconference in Kyiv. Also, Zulfiya Kochorbayeva, participated in the videoconference in Bishkek.
The videoconference was held within the framework of the project “Global virtual forum of women leaders,” which is supported by Internews and the U.S. Agency for International Development.