New Delhi [India], February 23 : In a push to expand India's parliamentary diplomacy, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has constituted Parliamentary Friendship Groups with over 60 countries, aiming to deepen engagement between India's legislature and parliaments across the world.
The initiative seeks to "widen India's inter- parliamentary engagement with the world" according to a release by the Lok Sabha secretariat.
It said, the move reflects a conscious effort by the Indian Parliament to deepen dialogue and exchanges with legislatures across continents and to complement traditional diplomacy with sustained parliamentary interaction.
The Friendship Groups bring together Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum. The group will be led by senior leaders, including Ravi Shankar Prasad, M Thambidurai, P Chidambaram, Ram Gopal Yadav, TR Baalu, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Gaurav Gogoi, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Manish Tiwari, Derek O'Brien, Abhishek Banerjee, Asaduddin Owaisi, Akhilesh Yadav, KC Venugopal, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Singh, Baijayant Panda, Shashi Tharoor, Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Singh Thakur, Bhartruhari Mahtab, D. Purandeswari, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Hema Malini, Biplab Kumar Deb, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Jagdambika Pal, Sasmit Patra, Aparajita Sarangi, Shrikant Eknath Shinde, PV Midhun Reddy and Praful Patel.
The countries with whom Parliamentary Friendship Groups have been constituted include Sri Lanka, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, Bhutan, Saudi, Israel, Maldives, USA, Russia, EU Parliament, South Korea, Nepal, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Oman, Australia, Greece, Singapore, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Iran and UAE.
The idea behind the initiative is to allow lawmakers to speak directly to their counterparts abroad, share legislative experience, and build trust through regular engagement and exchange best practices to further strengthen bilateral relations and promote greater mutual understanding.
Beyond parliamentary procedure, the groups are expected to facilitate conversations on trade, technology, social policy, culture, and global challenges that democracies face today. Speaker Om Birla has consistently emphasised the role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening India's global standing, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.
"By prioritising Parliament-to-Parliament and people-to-people connections, this initiative signals a more participatory approach to foreign engagement. The Friendship Groups will enable structured exchanges through dialogues, study visits, and joint discussions, helping to sustain long-term cooperation rooted in democratic values. In doing so, the Indian Parliament reinforces its role as a bridge between nations and as a living reflection of the world's largest democracy," it said.
"While friendship groups have been constituted with more than 60 countries in the first phase, efforts are being made to constitute these groups with many more countries in the near future," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.