Amb. Cortese, Italy and Brazil committed to gender equality

(ANSA) - BRASILIA, 25 SET - The Italian Ambassador to Brazil, greeted the Italian delegation 'of the engagement group' Women20 that will attend the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro between 27 September and 2 October. The initiative was presented at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome.
    In his speech, Cortese pointed out that 'the promotion and support of gender equality is "a priority of the Italian diplomatic consular network" and of the Brazilian G20 Presidency. The Ministry for Women,' he recalled, 'was established during the first Lula presidency (2003) and was reconstituted as an autonomous ministry on the occasion of the return' to the country's leadership (2023). The current minister is Aparecida Gonçalves, who will chair the G20 ministerial in Brasilia on Women empowerment on 11 October.
    Similarly,' the Ambassador stressed, 'Italy has been strongly committed to the promotion of gender equality since the creation of the Equal Opportunities Department in 1996, now headed by Minister Roccella.
    "We can mutually learn a lot from the social and regulatory progress our countries have made in protecting women and fostering their full realisation in society. Much, of course, remains to be done," said the diplomat, "and that is why it is important to discuss such decisive issues in international forums, such as the G20.
    "Also within the framework of the G20, Brazil has continued the work of the Working Group on Women Empowerment that will conclude, as I said, on 11 October with the Ministerial Meeting in Brasilia, which I am very pleased to attend. On that occasion, a Ministerial Declaration should be adopted that is ambitious in its objectives: the promotion of gender equality, mainly in the area of economic autonomy, and burden-sharing in care; the fight against misogyny and gender-based violence; the contribution of the gender approach in climate action'.