Pusić held a series of bilateral talks on the margins of the UN General Assembly: with UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, Special Adviser and Assistant UN Secretary-General for Civilian Capacities Sarah Cliffe, and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister

Pusić expressed to Bachelet Croatia’s strong support to the activities of UN Women, adding that human rights, namely the rights of women and girls, played a major role in Croatia’s domestic and foreign policy. She said Croatia promoted gender equality at all international forums, as well as through our development aid. Croatia is taking part in the ISAF mission and has built two girls’ schools, as we consider education to be crucial for their position in society and for the society itself.

Bachelet said she was familiar with Croatia’s gender equality strategy, adding that four Croatian companies are their partners in promoting equality. She underlined the need to improve gender equality through mandatory quotas of women on political lists, as well as in supervisory and managing boards of public companies. Bachelet agreed it was necessary to improve the position of women in Afghanistan, voicing concern over the situation after 2014.

During talks with Cliffe, Pusić said one of Croatia’s foreign-policy priorities was precisely creating its own civilian capacities, namely larger civil components in peacekeeping missions, adding that Croatia was successfully contributing to CAPMATCH through diverse expertise. Cliffe expressed satisfaction with Croatia’s engagement, adding that the priority countries were Libya, Liberia, Ivory Coast and East Timor, and invited Croatia to join the efforts.

Pusić and Mammadyarov discussed bilateral relations and European integration, as Azerbaijan is a member of the Eastern Partnership. Pusić said Croatia was willing to assist through the seminars and trainings organized by the Centre of Excellence.

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