New Delhi

In a move aimed at strengthening India’s parliamentary outreach, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has constituted Parliamentary Friendship Groups with more than 60 countries to enhance engagement between India’s legislature and its global counterparts.

According to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the initiative seeks to broaden India’s inter-parliamentary engagement and complement traditional diplomatic channels with sustained dialogue between elected representatives.

The Friendship Groups will comprise Members of Parliament from across party lines and will be led by senior parliamentarians. Among those heading various groups are Ravi Shankar Prasad, P. Chidambaram, Ram Gopal Yadav, T. R. Baalu, Gaurav Gogoi, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Manish Tewari, Derek O'Brien, Abhishek Banerjee, Asaduddin Owaisi, Akhilesh Yadav, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Supriya Sule, Shashi Tharoor, Anurag Singh Thakur, Hema Malini and Baijayant Panda, among others.

In the first phase, Friendship Groups have been formed with countries including Sri Lanka, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Maldives, United States, Russia, European Parliament, South Korea, Nepal, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Oman, Australia, Greece, Singapore, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Iran and United Arab Emirates.

The initiative is designed to enable lawmakers to directly engage with their international counterparts, exchange legislative best practices and foster trust through structured dialogue. Beyond parliamentary procedure, the groups are expected to facilitate discussions on trade, technology, social policy, culture and shared global challenges.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat said the move reflects a more participatory approach to foreign engagement by strengthening Parliament-to-Parliament and people-to-people ties. Structured exchanges, including dialogues, study visits and joint deliberations, are expected to support long-term cooperation grounded in democratic values.

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While over 60 Friendship Groups have been formed in the initial phase, the Secretariat said efforts are underway to extend the initiative to additional countries in the near future.