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The Multinational Development Policy Dialogue and the Regional Programme Political Dialogue in Asia of KAS, in cooperation with Ms Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio MEP, organised a dialogue programme for parliamentarians from the AWP network in Brussels. The dialogue programme aimed at giving Asian women parliamentarians who have been actively engaged in the regional discourse on women’s rights and gender issues the opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices with European interlocutors.

On the first day, members of the caucus met, discussed and networked with representatives from women's organisations working across a spectrum of thematic issues in Europe. This was followed by half day meetings at the European Commission. The following day, the delegation was hosted at the European Parliament with a special opportunity to participate at a public hearing at the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. This segment of the programme was hosted by the European People's Party. Members of the European Parliament and of the AWP Caucus exchanged ideas on policies for the promotion of gender equality in both regions. Speakers from the caucus included Hon. Shukria Barakzai from Afghanistan who spoke on "Girl Education"; Hon. Mu Sochua from Cambodia who stressed on "Women's Rights in Migration and Anti-Trafficking Policies"; while Hon. Hyunjoo Min from South Korea shared on "Institutional and Social Reforms for Gender Equality in the Labour Market". Members of the European Parliament also took part in this panel discussion, namely Hon. Ms Anna Maria Corraza Bildt; Hon. Ms. Constance Le Grip, Coordinator of EPP FEMM; Ms. Idiko Gáll-Pelcz, Vice President of the European Parliament, EPP FEMM member and EPP ASEAN member. The public hearing was closed with remarks from Mr. Esteban González Pons, Vice President of the Group of the European people’s Party and member of the Working Group Legal and Home Affairs.

The dialogue programme concluded with a series of meetings on the last day at NATO, the European External Action Service and UN Women Brussels.

All in all, the objectives of the programme were met as it was contextualised against the need to share and better women empowerment in both regions. The caucus looks forward to continuing this dialogue with European interlocutors in the coming year.