The Executive Yuan on Monday announced that Minister without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng achieved great success in leading a delegation of central and local government representatives to Sweden, Denmark and Finland—the three highest-ranked countries in the EU's Gender Equality Index—to engage in bilateral exchanges on the topics of gender equality and human rights from May 26 to June 3. In the future, the government will continue to work actively with EU nations to establish channels for cooperation and create an even more friendly environment for gender equality in Taiwan.
Minister Lo said that policy exchanges with the EU members and questions on future collaboration focused primarily on the five main topics of encouraging gender equality in policymaking at public and private organizations, enhancing women's economic power, closing gender gaps in education and employment, strengthening social supports like public child and elder care, and ending gender-based violence and promoting human rights overall. These talks dovetailed with the recent policy focus of the EU and northern European countries, and the scope of issues addressed by the Gender Equality Index. The European nations expressed enthusiasm for continued cooperation.
The recent trip, emphasized the minister, afforded the opportunity to engage in the bilateral exchange of policy experience, trade lessons learned, and showcase Taiwan's achievements in expanding human rights and gender equality, as well as raise the nation's profile on the international stage. The delegation's work also created openings for future cooperation and joint efforts to advance global human rights and values.