Saint Petersburg [Russia], July 13 (ANI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, met Presiding Officers of the legislatures of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Egypt, and Uzbekistan on Friday. 
Lok Sabha Speaker also held a bilateral meeting with the Speaker of Majlisi Namoyandagon of Tajikistan Zokir-Zoda Mahammad-Tohir Zohir.
During the meeting, several key issues were discussed between India and Tajikistan. Birla emphasized the deep historical and cultural ties between the two nations and the need to enhance parliamentary cooperation through the formation of a Parliamentary Friendship Group. He also highlighted the transparency of India’s election process. Both countries underscored the importance of collaboration in global multilateral forums and expressed a commitment to organizing training programs for Tajik parliamentary officials.
Additionally, Birla expressed satisfaction with the popularity of Indian culture and Yoga in Tajikistan and thanked his Tajik counterpart for taking care of Indian students in Tajikistan. These steps are expected to foster stronger relations and multilateral cooperation between the two countries, noted Birla. 
On the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Summit, Birla met the Chairperson of the Senate of Kazakhstan, Ashimbayev Maulen Sagathanuly.
Addressing the meeting, Birla said that as the world’s largest democracy, India has brought changes in the socio-economic life of its citizens on the basis of democratic governance. Emphasizing the need to strengthen parliamentary dialogue and discussion between India and Kazakhstan, he suggested continued dialogue between the parliamentary delegations of the two countries, with regular bilateral visits to each other’s countries. 
Following this, Birla held a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Igor Sergeyenko.
Referring to the close and friendly relations between India and Belarus, Birla noted that despite challenging international circumstances, relations between the two countries remain close due to mutual understanding and continuous engagement at various levels.
Further, Birla observed that India and Belarus have a rich tradition of cooperation in the defence sector. Cultural contacts between the people of India and Belarus have been a strong pillar of our bilateral partnership, he added.
He stressed the need to further strengthen parliamentary dialogue and discussion between India and Belarus and on continuous cooperation between parliamentary delegations of the two nations.
On the sidelines of the summit, the Lok Sabha Speaker met the Chairperson of the Senate of Uzbekistan, Tanzila Kamalovna Narbaeva.
Expressing happiness that there is significant participation of women in the Parliament of Uzbekistan and that the representation of women MPs in the Oli Majlis is the highest in all of Asia (about 40 per cent), Birla informed that the Indian Parliament has passed Naari Shakti Vandan Vidheyak which provides for reservation of 1/3 seats in Parliament and State Legislatures. This Bill is a milestone in the history of India’s women empowerment initiatives, noted Birla.
Mentioning that democratic traditions have existed in India since ancient times and India is the mother of democracy, Birla informed that this year, general elections were held for the lower house of the Indian Parliament in which there was wide participation of the voters. Around 650 million voters exercised their democratic rights, he added.
Referring to the capacity-building programmes undertaken by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Birla was happy to note that the Parliamentary Democracy Research and Training Institute of the Parliament of India organizes two international training programmes on the subject of Parliamentary Internship Programmes for Parliamentary officials from other countries and International Training in Legislative Drafting and he urged that more and more participant should join such courses.
The Bilateral talks between the presiding officers of the Indian and Egyptian Parliaments focused on enhancing bilateral relations and parliamentary cooperation.
Birla highlighted the historic and cultural ties between the two nations, reinforced by shared struggles against colonialism and the shared values of the Non-Aligned Movement.
He acknowledged Egypt’s strategic role as a bridge between Asia and Africa and proposed the formation of a Parliamentary Friendship Group to facilitate mutual understanding and cooperation.
High-level visits, including President Sisi’s participation in India’s Republic Day and Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to Egypt, were noted as milestones in strengthening relations.
Birla also suggested installing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Egypt’s new parliamentary premises to honour enduring ties.
Both countries agreed to collaborate in multilateral forums like the IPU and BRICS, with a focus on supporting the Global South and developing nations. The commitment to mutual parliamentary cooperation and youth and women’s participation was reaffirmed, with hopes for continued strengthening of bilateral relations. (ANI)
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