It is our natural approach to help people, pay attention to details, and listen more, so that we are able to lead with our heart, and to make decisions at the exact time based on what people need
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Mayor of Surabaya, East Java Province, Tri Rismaharini (Risma) was invited to attend as a panelist and honorary guest at the International Forum of Women in Local Government in Ankara, Turkey, on December 11-12, 2019.

Risma delivered her 15-minute speech that was borne witness by Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and some three thousand women at the forum held by the Women Wing of Justice and Development Party (AKP), as confirmed in a statement of the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara, received here on Friday.

"It is our natural approach to help people, pay attention to detail, and listen more, so that we are able to lead within our heart, and to make decisions at the exact time based on what people need. In another words, we--women, are able to lead with full concern," Risma stated.

Apart from being a panelist at the forum's main session, Risma also inked a sister city partnership agreement between her governing city Surabaya and Gaziantep--one of the industrial cities in Turkey, led by a woman mayor.

"Turkey's political leaders urged me to invite Mayor Risma. It is an honor to have Indonesian woman that inspire and be a role model for women of other nations," Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey Lalu Muhammad Iqbal remarked.

The forum was held in accordance with Erdogan's approach to focus on gender mainstreaming in various sectors, including politics.

The 6th edition was attended by several women figures from across 20 different nations. Risma was invited as an honorary guest based on her achievements as a mayor and the way she has inspired scores of people, especially women.

"Inspirational women, such as Risma from Surabaya, Indonesia, make us believe in the importance of involving women and listening to their views on the development process," Erdogan emphasized.

In Turkey, women constitute solely 103 of the 600 members of parliament, while among 1,389 mayors across the country's regions, only three percent women hold the mayoral post.

Under Erdogan, the statistics of women’s involvement in public sectors has risen notably, despite the figures yet being far from satisfactory.

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Translator: Yashinta Difa Pramudyani, Suwa
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019