On November 2, 2021, Azerbaijan hosted a virtual meeting of the Working Group on Gender and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Special Program for Central Asia (SPECA) on "Restoring Justice: Gender Equality in the World after the COVID-19 pandemic" .

Dmitry Mariyasin, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and Sadagat Gahramanova, Deputy Chair of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, made opening remarks at the meeting.

The first session discussed the issues of women's economic development and the work done in SPECA countries (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and future political initiatives to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports on the activities carried out in this area were heard.

In her speech, Sadagat Gahramanova, Chair of the SPECA Working Group on Gender and Sustainable Development, said that despite the socio-economic problems caused by the pandemic around the world, as well as the challenges of combating Armenian aggression in our country, measures are being taken to develop women's and girls' rights.

Gahramanova noted that the SPECA Working Group on Gender and SGP is an important experience platform in achieving the goals of sustainable development, ensuring the rights of women and girls in member countries, and increasing women's participation in economic activities. She spoke about gender equality, strengthening women's rights and opportunities, measures taken to develop women's entrepreneurship, projects, results achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan and shared her experiences. She expressed hope that despite the successes in this area, greater progress will be made in this direction due to regional cooperation, fruitful dialogue and joint efforts.

Opening the second session, Malina Koparanova, UNECE Officer for Gender and Social Affairs, presented the EU's key proposals and recommendations to strengthen women's economic rights and empowerment through unpaid work.

The third session heard a report on the activities of the SPECA Working Group on Gender and SGP for 2020-2021 and discussed the work plan for 2022.

The meeting was attended by officials from the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Development Program and the regional office of the Women's Organization, and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.