Deputy Prime Minister Bečić meets with Founder of the Women Political Leaders (WPL)

Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić held a meeting with Silvana Koch-Mehrin, the founder of the Women Political Leaders (WPL), the global network of women politicians, headquartered in Brussels. Koch-Mehrin is currently paying her first official visit to Montenegro, following an invitation from Vice President of the Parliament Zdenka Popović.

Extending a warm welcome to the distinguished guest, Deputy Prime Minister Bečić emphasized that gender equality and the inclusion of women and youth in decision-making roles have consistently remained a central focus throughout his political career, regardless of the position he has held.

I am proud that following the historic change of government in 2020, during my tenure as President of the Parliament of Montenegro, in addition to revolutionary reforms in transparency, openness, and modernization of parliamentary work, we made significant strides in advancing gender equality. At that time, the Women's Club was established, comprising female MPs from all political parties. Based on their proposals, a number of important laws were adopted, including the introduction of a procedural requirement that at least one Deputy Speaker of Parliament must be a woman. Moreover, female MPs began taking leadership roles in key parliamentary delegations and working bodies—an important step forward we proudly achieved, Bečić stated.

He further noted that today, in the security and defence sectors, many directorates, state secretariats, and administrative departments are headed by women. In addition, nearly 40% of the most recent graduating class at the Police Academy were women.

This demonstrates the strong commitment to promoting gender equality and strengthening the role of women in this field as well. Of course, it is up to all of us to continue contributing to their motivation and greater inclusion across all areas of social and political life. The quality, balance, reliability, and stability they bring are ultimately in the best interest of our state and its institutions, and crucial to achieving our historic goal—the dream of many generations—for Montenegro to become the 28th member of the European Union by 2028, he highlighted.

It is inspiring to hear that from the very first day of your public service, you have remained committed to your agenda of supporting women in politics as a top priority. You continue to stand for what is right and smart for this country, said WPL Founder and President Silvana Koch-Mehrin, expressing her gratitude to Deputy Prime Minister Bečić.