Good morning and good afternoon to everyone,
It is with joy and enthusiasm that I join Brasil’s Minister for Women, Cida Gonçalves, in welcoming the member countries, other countries and guest organizations of the G20.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate India's presidency on the results achieved and on its support during the transition from India to Brasil.
The Brazilian presidency of the group has high goals and expectations for the development of dialogues and results in the various working groups, as well as in the Sherpas and Finance Tracks.
These are the priorities of our presidency: firstly, social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty; also, the energy transition and the promotion of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions; finally, the reform of global governance institutions.
This year will be a year of hard work and building sustainable solutions to the challenges and crises the world is facing.
President Lula and the Brazilian government have been working hard to build and strengthen relations between our countries, always with a focus on cooperation, solidarity and partnership.
We understand that only by working together can we build a more equitable and sustainable present and future.
In recent years, we have experienced extreme weather events and the impacts of the climate crisis more intensely. And that still feeds back into the economic and social challenges we face.
In our unequal reality, the countries of the Global South have suffered the greatest material and human losses. But today we can already see that the countries of the North and the richest have also noticed the increase in impacts on their territories and populations.
In this scenario, women are even more at risk and suffer disproportionately from crises, considering their social role and historical responsibility for caring for the most vulnerable.
And the unequal way in which they are treated in all aspects of life and reproduction.
We women receive lower salaries, even in the same job as men, and we suffer from gender violence in all aspects of life. I'd like to point out that one of President Lula's first measures, as soon as he took office in 2023, was to send a law to the National Parliament that determines that men and women receive equal salaries if they perform the same duties. This law is already a reality in Brasil.
In 2015, our countries committed to the 2030 Agenda at the United Nations. This is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 5, which sets targets and indicators for achieving Gender Equality.
Since then, the debate on this issue, as well as efforts to improve women's conditions, have grown in strength and momentum.
In 2023, during India's presidency of the G20, the member countries decided to create the Women's Empowerment WG to focus on issues pertinent to women. This without losing sight of the cross-cutting and intersectional nature of the other WGs and themes discussed by the G20 countries.
This is an opportunity to develop solutions to issues of equality, tackling violence and misogyny, and climate justice based on our experiences and lessons learned.
This is the first year that the Women's Empowerment WG has met, giving us the opportunity and responsibility to set the tone for how this debate will take place in the coming years.
I believe that the Group's strength lies in our similarities, even within our diversity.
I'd like to end by congratulating Minister Cida and the entire team at the Brasil’s Ministry of Women for their work in organizing this meeting and coordinating the debates to come.
And I wish you all good work over the next two days.
Brotherly greetings from Brasil!
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