Regional politicians meet at Cetinje Parliamentary Forum to discuss role of women in business

The Cetinje Parliamentary Forum “Women in business” was held on 9 and 10 June 2014 in Cetinje, bringing together parliamentary and government representatives from the Western Balkans and Turkey to discuss the challenges and potential for advancing women’s role in entrepreneurship.

The Forum was organized by the Parliament of Montenegro, supported by OSCE, Gender Task Force and Regional Co-operation Council. It was opened by the Speaker of Montenegrin Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic;  the Special Representative of the OSCE for the Western Balkans, Ambassador Gerard Stoudmann; the Minister for European Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and the General Secretary of RCC Goran Svilanovic.

Representatives of Parliaments and Governments of Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Turkey participated in the two-day event sharing expertise on the regulatory framework and access to finance.

Krivokapic highlighted the importance of creating better conditions for increasing the number of women in business and the special role of parliaments in this area when it comes to much -needed reforms.

Ambassador Stoudmann emphasized the need for considering the legislative framework when addressing the issue of gender. He also noted that one cannot consider there to be a modern society and economy if women are not actively participating in it.

The participating countries adopted a joint declaration and a set of recommendations and agreed to organize a follow-up forum next year.