Lok Sabha speaker to address joint sitting of Bhutan Parliament
Meira Kumar said that Parliament would be launching 60 Friendship Groups of Parliamentarians in the near future to promote dialogue between democracies.
Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar will address the joint session of the Bhutanese Parliament on Friday and launch a Friendship Group comprising MPs for Bhutan, the first such initiative by Indian Parliament.The speaker, who embarks on a four-day visit to Bhutan tomorrow, said that Parliament would be launching 60 Friendship Groups of Parliamentarians in the near future to promote dialogue between democracies.Kumar will be the first Lok Sabha speaker to address ajoint sitting of the Bhutanese Parliament. Bhutan embraceddemocracy when elections were first held in the tiny Himalayannation in March 2008. This transition to Constitutional Monarchy was led by thefourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The Speaker will be accompanied by a delegationcomprising Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj(BJP), Lok Sabha MPs Girija Vyas (Cong) and Vishwa Mohan Kumar(JDU), Rajya Sabha members Pyarimohan Mohapatra (BJD) andRanjitsinh Mohite-Patil (NCP) and senior parliament officials. They will meet Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar NamgyelWangchuck, Prime Minister Jigme Thinley, National AssemblySpeaker Tshogton Jigme Tshultim and other senior leaders. "During my visit, we will be launching the first everFriendship Group of parliamentarians for Bhutan," Kumar toldreporters here. She said Indian Parliament will launch 60 such friendshipgroups to promote dialogue among several nations. The next Friendship Group will be for Hungary, Kumarsaid. PTI SKUSDG05251730NNNN