On Septemeber 11,  ceremonial events with the participation of the wife of the President of Ukraine Olena Zelenska on the occasion of Ukraine's accession to the Biarritz Partnership Awards to Ukraine were held in Kyiv. The event was also attended by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Ambassadors of the G7 countries and Sweden as well as representatives of international organizations.

During a solemn event, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins presented an official response letter from the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Jean-Yves Le Drian to the letter of the Cabinet of Ministers initiated by the First Lade on Ukraine's participation in the Biarritz Partnership

President’s wife Olena Zelenska undelined: “This is an important step for Ukraine towards equality in a broad sense - regardless of gender, age, cultural, physical or mental differences. The experience and support of the participating countries and the expertise gathered in the framework of the Biarritz Partnership will certainly be of great importance in our work to create equal opportunities for all Ukrainians."

In turn the Prime Minister stressed that the Biarritz Partnership is about respect for each other and equal opportunities for all.

"This step is aimed at mobilizing our efforts to achieve equal rights and opportunities for all people. It is important for us to implement the best world practices both in the legislative sphere and at the level of the executive branch," Denys Shmyhal underscored. .

The PM noted that the Government is actively working in this direction and will propose relevant legislative initiatives.

"In particular, this is a reduction in the gender pay gap, which is now at 25% for the same positions. This is a reform of the legislation in the field of social leave, creating greater opportunities for men to take care of children," the Head of Government stressed.

Background

The Biarritz Partnership was launched by G7 leaders at a Summit in Biarritz (France) on August 25, 2019 under the chairmanship of President of France Emmanuel Macron. The purpose of the initiative is to strengthen the responsibility and to consolidate efforts of the international community to achieve gender equality.