An international conference, themed “Female parliamentarians withnational strategy on gender equality” kicked off on July 27 in thesouthern province of Khanh Hoa.

Jointly heldby the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs, the VietnamFemale Parliamentarians Group and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme in Vietnam, the two-day conference drew more than 50 femaledelegates from 10 countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,Malaysia, Canada, the Republic of Korea, China, Sweden, Thailand andVietnam.

Addressing the opening ceremony, NationalAssembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong emphasised the importance of thegender equality strategy in each country and the real experience onfemale parliamentarians’ role in promoting gender equality.

Phong said that it is necessary to strengthen mutual understanding and share experience among countries.

The event focused on discussing the progress and challenges of genderintegration into parliamentary activities and strategies on genderequality, including the plans for action and orientation.

At the conference, the participants shared opinions on many globalissues, stressing that many legislative bodies are facing difficultiesin promoting gender equality.

Vietnamese delegatesshared the country’s experience with international friends when Vietnamhas a high number of NA female deputies, the quality of NA femaledeputies has been improved and the number of young and ethnic minoritydelegates accounts for a remarkable proportion.-VNA