Embassy of India
Brussels
Hon’ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament, H.E. Ms.
Sumitra Mahajan, meets President of the European Parliament, H.E.
Mr. Martin Schulz in Brussels
(June 23, 2015)
The Hon’ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament, H.E.
Ms. Sumitra Mahajan, met President of the European Parliament, H.E. Mr.
Martin Schulz at the European Parliament in Brussels today (June 23, 2015).
President Schulz extended a warm welcome to Hon’ble Speaker of the
Lok Sabha and expressed delight at the interaction of the highest political
leadership of the Parliaments of the world’s largest democracies and the
“biggest lawmakers” of the world.
The Hon’ble Speaker congratulated President Schulz on his reelection and briefed him on developments in India in the past year. She
drew attention to the historic election of last year when the people voted
decisively and gave the Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi an absolute majority on its own. The Lok
Sabha saw a record 316 first time MPs.
The Hon’ble Speaker informed President Schulz of the major
initiatives launched by the Government, including Make in India, Smart
Cities, Digital India, Swacch Bharat, Nirmal Ganga and the massive social
inclusion drive through the Jan Dhan Yojana that has seen millions of bank
accounts opened for the poor. She also spoke of women’s empowerment in
India and that 50% of the seats in local bodies were reserved for women.
In the area of foreign policy, the Hon’ble Speaker recalled that Heads
of Government from all SAARC countries attended the swearing-in
ceremony of Prime Minister Modi last year. India believed that prosperity in
our region requires an economically inter-linked neighbourhood and stability
in the region with sensitivity to each other’s security concerns and zero
tolerance of terrorism.
Prime Minister Modi had recently recently visited Bangladesh and
signed the landmark border agreement. Earlier Parliament had unanimously
passed the Constitutional amendment required for the Land Border
Agreement Act.
Underscoring the strategic partnership between India and the EU, the
Hon’ble Speaker noted that the EU is India’s largest regional trading partner
while India was the EU’s 9th largest trading partner in 2014. She hoped that
progress can be achieved on the India-EU Broad-based Trade and
Investment Agreement highlighting that it needs to be a Win-Win one for
both sides. The Hon’ble Speaker invited active EU participation in India’s
development initiatives.
The Hon’ble Speaker thanked the EU for its support to Prime Minister
Modi’s initiative at the UN to declare 21 June as the International Day of
Yoga and appreciated the European Parliament hosting a Yoga event led by
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who was also received by President Schulz.
The Hon’ble Speaker extended an invitation to President Schulz to
visit India that he was pleased to accept.
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