Skopje, 23 September 2023 (MIA) - The wife of President Stevo Pendarovski, Elizabeta Gjorgievska, who accompanied him during his participation in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, held several meetings and activities, the President’s Office said on Saturday.

“Gjorgievska met Dien Keita, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and shared views on the upcoming high-level conference, entitled “The Power of Choice: Realising Bodily Autonomy for Women and Girls” which will be hosted by Gjorgievska, in cooperation with UNFPA, and will be held under the auspices of the President, in October. They discussed that the topic of the conference “The Power of Choice” which is of great importance on progress towards ensuring women’s bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Keita welcomed Gjorgievska's engagement on the issues UNFPA is working on, putting North Macedonia high on the map of countries that are active on this issue,” reads the press release.

Gjorgievska also participated in the initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, where he emphasized that "violence against women must be ended, which practically denies basic human rights to millions of women and girls rights and the opportunity to actively contribute to society and the community".

She also attended the reception hosted by US First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, where she had a short meeting with her, and briefed her on the activities she is working on in cooperation with UNICEF and other partners, dedicated to mental health among young people and the need from greater concern and systemic solutions from the competent stakeholders in maintaining mental health among young people.

She also held a short meeting with the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, during which they discussed the recently held Mental Health Summit in Kiev and reaffirmed the support for the commitments of the Ukrainian president's wife, in the context of the protection of children and their rights.

Moreover, during her stay in New York, Gjorgievska also gave two lectures for postgraduate students at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, Pendarovski's Office said.

Photo: President’s Office