Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth Countries (CSPOC) in New Delhi. PIC/PTI
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
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.
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