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The first Women Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (WFMM) has been held in the Canadian city of Montrèal with a call for the advancement of global peace and security.

There were seventeen, 17 participants including Croatia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Namibia, Norway, South Africa and Ghana.

Participants pledged their commitment to push the agenda through the offices they occupy, in their respective countries.

In her participatory address, Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP) re-iterated the narrative that women’s economic and political empowerment was critical to building a safer, more prosperous and inclusive world.

The Hon. Minster therefore urged her colleague ministers to take full advantage of available opportunities to better serve their countries.

She was hopeful the gesture would go a long way to advance world peace and stability, while positively impacting the lives of women and children across sectors.

The two-day meeting which took place from September 21 to 22, 2018 was co-hosted by Canada's Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, along with the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini who encouraged governments across the globe to roll out policies that would remove cultural barriers that undermine the efforts of women in the forward movement of their societies.

The platform also offered a groundbreaking opportunity for the female Foreign Ministers to discuss other topical issues such as re-enforcing democracy, diversity and inclusion, feminist foreign policy and aid

Also significant to the meeting were ways of combating sexual and gender-based violence as well as defending women’s rights defenders.

There are currently about 30 women globally in the Asia, Europe and Africa regions including Australia and the Caribbean who are leading their countries' diplomacy.