Women’s unions of Belarus, Laos agreed to exchange visits in 2026

During a meeting at the Global Women's Summit in China, representatives of the Belarusian Women's Union and the Lao Women's Union agreed to exchange visits in 2026

The Global Women's Summit, held in October, was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration – a strategic programme for the empowerment of women. The forum brought together participants from more than 150 countries, including heads of government, parliamentarians, key departments, and public organisations. The event was called a new chapter in the development of the women's world, and it was inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The delegation of the Belarusian Women’s Union participated in the summit as well.

Olga Shpilevskaya, the Director of the Mir TV and Radio Company representative office in Belarus and Chairperson of the Belarusian Women’s Union, shared her impressions, saying it’s symbolic that the large-scale forum was opened by the President of the People's Republic of China, who delivered a keynote speech in which great attention was paid to the need to develop the global women's movement. “It was stated in the programme speech that a woman should develop and be supported in all directions. It was said that China is ready to allocate large grants for the development of women's movements, startups, and education. For example, online platforms and artificial intelligence, in which China has certainly made great progress, will help,” she said.

Ms. Shpilevskaya noted that meetings with like-minded women from other countries who have already become friends and close souls always take place at large forums – i.e. with female colleagues from Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and African countries.

“We held talks with the women of Laos, who had earlier visited Belarus. In China, we agreed that a big visit to Belarus will take place in May, and we will draw up a programme taking into account their interests. We will pay them a return visit later,” the Chairperson of the Belarusian Women’s Union added.