Parliamentary Friendship Groups Deepen India's Global Ties, Says Chevella MP
Other Telangana MPs leading delegations include Dharmapuri Arvind (BJP) for Ukraine, Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) for Oman, and C. Kiran Kumar Reddy (Congress) for South Korea.
Hyderabad: The Parliamentary Friendship Groups (PFGs) constituted with more than 60 countries was a pro-active exercise to widen India's inter-parliamentary engagement and deepen diplomatic relations, said BJP Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who will be leading a delegation for Kuwait.
Vishweshwar Reddy told Deccan Chronicle said that unlike parliamentary teams which toured several nations after Operation Sindoor, which were meant to clear India’s stand, the PFGs were aimed at establishing structured and continuous channels of engagement between Indian MPs and their counterparts abroad. Many countries showed keen interest to widen dialogue in the wake of growing influence of India, said Vishweshwar Reddy.
He said that in the era of “poly-crises”, where multiple, and distinct crises of economic, geopolitical, social and technological developments were occurring simultaneously or in close succession, many nations were seeking cordial relations with India.
Unlike ad hoc parliamentary delegations or protocol-driven visits, engaging these groups was a pro-active exercise to enable sustained interaction, exchange views on institutional reforms and democratic norms, said Vishweshwar Reddy.
These groups provide a platform for discussing wider areas of mutual interest such as trade, investment, technology cooperation, education, culture and global challenges in tune with India’s long diplomatic perspective to complement the country’s conventional foreign policy mechanisms, the Chevella MP said.
The Vishweshwar Reddy-led delegation engagement with Kuwait is significant in many ways as the nation plays a key role in energy security and also in strategic investment; the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has invested over $10 billion in India. Of the one million Indian diaspora in Kuwait, a substantial portion, estimated at 3 lakh workers and skilled professionals hail from the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Other Telangana MPs leading delegations include Dharmapuri Arvind (BJP) for Ukraine, Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) for Oman, and C. Kiran Kumar Reddy (Congress) for South Korea.
