Maldives Seeks India’s Support for Digitization of Parliamentary Resources, Lok Sabha Speaker Offers Full Cooperation.
New Delhi:
In a significant diplomatic meeting today, India reaffirmed its close ties with the Maldives as a parliamentary delegation from the island nation called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The delegation, led by Abdul Raheem Abdulla, Speaker of the People’s Majlis of Maldives, discussed various avenues for enhancing bilateral relations, particularly in the realm of parliamentary digitization and capacity building.
During the meeting, the Speaker of the People’s Majlis expressed admiration for the advancements made by the Indian Parliament in adopting technology, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and providing multilingual interpretation services. He praised India’s digital transformation in parliamentary procedures and requested support in digitizing the resources of the Maldivian Parliament. Birla assured that India would extend every possible help to the People’s Majlis to further the digitization process, underscoring India’s commitment to strengthening the ties between the two countries.
Birla also emphasized that the Maldives plays a critical role as a pillar of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and the broader vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region). He described the ongoing people-to-people relations between the two nations as the foundation of their strong bilateral ties and hoped that the visit would further deepen the cooperation between the legislative bodies of India and the Maldives.
Highlighting India’s parliamentary initiatives, Birla provided insights into the country’s ongoing efforts in digital and technological innovation, including the provision of simultaneous interpretation services in 15 regional languages, soon to be expanded to 22. He also shared information about the role of PRIDE (Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies), which trains parliamentary staff on procedures, and hoped the Maldives could benefit from this initiative to enhance its own parliamentary functioning.
The discussion also covered India’s ongoing celebration of 75 years of its Constitution, with Birla reflecting on the significance of the country’s vibrant parliamentary democracy and the robust role of parliamentary committees. He explained the functioning of these committees, which enable detailed scrutiny of key policy and budgetary matters in a non-partisan manner.
Abdulla thanked Birla for the warm reception and praised India’s digital initiatives, particularly its AI-driven advancements. He also visited the Parliament Library and expressed hope that similar facilities would be available in the Maldives in the future.
The meeting was attended by several Members of Parliament, including N.K. Premachandran, Ashish Dubey, Francis George, Alok Kumar Suman, Shafi Perambil, and Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary General, Lok Sabha, among others.
Earlier, the Maldivian delegation had the opportunity to observe the proceedings of the Lok Sabha, where Birla extended a formal welcome to the guests.
