CISF band members perform during the ceremonial proceedings at the Parliament House Complex

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla leads a ceremonial procession with Inter-Parliamentary Union Tulia Ackson marking the start of the conference hosted by India for the fourth time

Foreign delegates walk in a formal procession at Samvidhan Sadan ahead of the inaugural ceremony of the 28th CSPOC

Sixty-one Speakers and Presiding Officers from 42 Commonwealth countries, along with representatives from four semi-autonomous parliaments attended the conference 

These include delegations from Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia

From the Global South, the Deputy Speaker of Namibia as well as delegations from Trinidad and Tobago, Tonga, Cameroon, and Malaysia were among those who attended the conference

PM Modi is greeted by the Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth nations during the conference inauguration

Delegates will discuss on topics mainly focusing on artificial intelligence, social media in parliamentary functioning, citizen participation, and the security and well-being of MPs

PM Modi addresses the gathering, highlighting India’s democratic traditions and its identity as the “Mother of Democracy”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attends the conference along with Union Minister JP Nadda (left) 

Delegates listen as Modi speaks on diversity as a strength of democracy and the role of institutions in driving development

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also participated in the conference, a move that some political observers say could fuel speculation in domestic politics

Foreign delegates pose for a group photograph during the 28th CSPOC at the Parliament House Complex

PM Modi said India has turned diversity into the strength of its democracy and shown the world that democratic institutions and processes give stability, speed and scale to its development.