Iranian Delegation Visits Northwest China's Xinjiang

At the invitation of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), Iranian Minister of Women and Family Affairs headed a six-person delegation to northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on September 18-22, 2016.

The visit aimed to strengthen Chinese and Iranian women's exchanges and enhance their comprehensive cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Jiao Yang, vice-president and member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, held a discussion with the Iranian visitors about the development of bilateral ties and the progress of the BRI.

The Iranian delegation attended the first Women's Forum of Countries along the Silk Road and the third China-Iran Women's Symposium, held an inspection tour in Xinjiang Women Cadres School and a business startup & employment base in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, and engaged in friendly talks with locals.

Addressing the third China-Iran Women's Symposium, four Iranian speakers gave an introduction of the roles played by Iranian women in social and economic growth from the perspectives of equal rights and differentiating functions between the two genders, the internet era and women's development space, women's employment and their economic participation, and women's empowerment, as well as the opportunities and challenges they face in social transformation.

They emphasized that their country had already integrated the access to and utility of computers and the internet in a safe and healthy environment into a national education plan on women, as online education are of great importance to helping local females get information and proving them with more employment opportunities.

They continued that both the Iranian government and the municipal government in Tehran had come up with many measures and policies to guarantee the rights and interests of women in the fields of employment, mental and physical health, legal assistance and empowerment.

Hou Hanmin, secretary of the Party Committee of Xinjiang Women's Federation; Li Jianrong, an official in charge of Party-building affairs from Xinjiang Education Department; Wang Yan, chairperson of New Silk Road Khorgos Entrepreneurs Association; and He Lu, a lawyer from a Xinjiang-based law firm, talked about the latest development of Chinese women and women's work in Xinjiang, Chinese women's involvement in economic affairs and cases about the building of the Belt and Road, the educational system for women in China, and legal construction for the protection of women's rights.

The Iranian delegates said that the forum and symposium had helped participants learn more about the achievements made by China and Iran in the promotion of women's growth and ignited a willingness to engage in mutual learning.

They hoped that the two countries would build a closer partnership, expand and deepen bilateral cooperation on women's exchanges, and work on a win-win and common development.

(Women of China)