Women world leaders meet in Vilnius

VILNIUS -- Female leaders from around the world will gather in Vilnius today for the first major conference of its kind that Lithuania has hosted.

The June 30 conference, titled "Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices", wsa organized on the initiative of Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Finnish President Tarja Halonen.

"I am very happy to welcome in Lithuania so many prominent women whose experience and achievements are an inspiring example to all women of the world," Grybauskaite said ahead of the event.

"Vilnius will become a global focus centre, a venue for discussions on the most sensitive issues of democracy and equal opportunities, the results of which will provide guidance on how women's rights could be enforced and protected in the world," she said.

In addition to Grybauskaite and Halonen, participants include President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva, President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga, President of Mongolia Elbegdorj Tsakhia, Speaker of Albania's Parliament Jozefina Çoba Topalli, Speaker of Latvia's Parliament Solvita Āboltiņa, Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also EU, UN and OSCE representatives, members of foreign national parliaments and governments, human and women's rights activists, and NGOs.