Luanda - The Speaker of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, was highlighted in the Brazilian press after her speech on Thursday at the G20 Parliamentary Summit at the National Congress Palace.
Correio Braziliense, one of Brasília's main newspapers, highlighted the fact that Carolina Cerqueira is the first woman to hold the position of Speaker of Angola's National Assembly.
According to the newspaper, she defended the creation of gender quotas in political and administrative appointments, in order to boost the participation of women in decision-making at all levels.
The newspaper also noted that Carolina Cerqueira, who is also leading the Angolan delegation participating in the Summit, advocated alternation between men and women on party lists and political and technical training programs so that women candidates can develop their leadership and crisis management skills in order to allow a greater presence of women in public leadership.
The web page on economic issues called My News, emphasized that Carolina Cerqueira advocated the creation of incentives to hire women in sectors seen mainly for men, and that the public sector in African countries can lead this change by encouraging female entry into areas such as engineering, mathematics, politics and national security, food security and climate security, as well as matters linked to the energy crisis.
“In this regard, it is important to count on international support to fund scholarships to train young people and girls from developing countries”, the newspaper quoted Carolina Cerqueira.
The Speaker of the National Assembly granted an interview to TV Câmara on Thursday, in which she reaffirmed her advocacy of increasing female representation in decision-making spaces and emphasized the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in creating institutional ties and bridges for dialogue and the exchange of ideas between parliamentarians worldwide.
Carolina Cerqueira stressed Angola's commitment to promote and preserve regional and international peace, through a crucial role in mediating conflicts, especially in the Great Lakes region, where the Angolan Head of State is leading the process of pacification in the region that led him to be awarded the title of Champion of Peace by the African Union.
The lawmaker highlighted the qualities of Angolan women, in particular the legendary Queen Njinga Mbandi, whose qualities as courageous warriors, smart strategist and skilful diplomat demonstrated that women can break down barriers and become an example for younger generations.
Carolina Cerqueira emphasized the number of women in the parliament, some of whom hold leading positions in specialized working committees and in grassroots work, in order to bring the legislative branch closer to the people.
The 10th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit finishes Friday under the slogan “Parliaments for a just world and a sustainable planet”,
The event, which is taking place at the National Congress Palace in Brasilia, with the participation of around 36 countries, is debating issues related to combat against hunger, poverty and inequality, socio-environmental development promotion and a fair and inclusive ecological transition, as well as building global governance adjusted to the challenges of the 21st century.
Participants will also reflect and discuss how parliaments can help define policies that guarantee the population's food and nutrition security.
At the end of the work, a joint statement should be produced, based on consensus between the parliamentary representatives, which will be delivered to the G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 in Rio de Janeiro.
Created in 2010, the group of parliaments from the world's richest countries, called the P20, will debate proposals that help contribute to global issues.
The P20 works to guide governments through inter-parliamentary cooperation and the exchange of information.
The 10th Summit is a joint event of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and the Brazilian Senate, and has the partnership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
With two thirds of the planet's population, the G20 accounts for 85% of the world's gross domestic product and 75% of international trade.
Angola is represented at the highest level by a delegation led by the National Assembly Speaker, Carolina Cerqueira, and MPs Vigílio Tyova, Aia-Eza Troso and Ariane Nhany.
ART/MRA/AMP
