New Delhi: President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Duarte Pacheco, called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament House on Monday.
On this occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker told Mr. Duarte Pacheco that no Parliament should discuss laws passed by other Parliaments and issues internal of other sovereign countries.
Referring to the strong, historical ties of India with the IPU, Mr Birla said that India has a rich democratic and cultural heritage of thousands of years.
” Our constitution has guided us on the path of prosperity. India will be celebrating 75 years of its Independence,” Mr Birla said.
On the role of the IPU, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that the IPU is inspiring the world community on issues like climate change, education, health, economy, terrorism and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this regard, Mr Birla observed that twice India has organised IPU conference in 1969 and 1993. Former Presiding Officers, G.S. Dhillon and Mrs Najma Heptulla had been IPU presidents in the past.
Mr Birla mentioned that both India and IPU share the same global vision of strengthening democracy. Our collective vision is democratization of governance at the international level, the Speaker said.
He appreciated the Portuguese government for their support to India’s point of view for re-organisation of the UN Security Council and India’s permanent membership of the Council.
Regarding the challenges of COVID19, the Speaker emphasized that India has always played the role of a responsible international partner. India has supplied COVID related treatment materials to more than 154 countries and it has deployed rapid response teams in several countries to tackle the COVID19. India, for its capability in COVID vaccines, has emerged as ‘pharmacy of the world’, said Mr Birla.
Acknowledging the positive role played by IPU in the field of international cooperation, Mr Birla said that the IPU is playing a vital role for national parliaments and for voicing their concerns at the international level.
