South Asian Speakers Summit kicks off in Indore

Indore: The two-day South Asian Speakers Summit on achieving sustainable development goals kicked-off here this morning. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, along with dignitaries of South Asian countries except Myanmar and Pakistan, were welcomed by traditional dance amid beating of drums on their arrival. The Parliament of India and Inter Parliamentary Union are jointly organising the first meeting. The presiding officers of Parliament from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are attending the programme.

The Summit will discuss issues relevant to South Asian region during the two-day deliberations like-- identifying resources for SDGs implementation in the region, gender equality as a critical factor for sustainable development, dealing effectively with the challenge of climate change, it said. Earlier, in January 2016, Speakers of Parliament from South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka) had met for the first time in Dhaka and discussed ways and concrete action on the SDGs.

The Dhaka declaration highlighted the importance of strong Parliamentary actions on the SDGs and established the South Asian Speakers Forum on achieving it. It was also decided that the Forum will meet once in a year to discuss the progress and implementation of the SDGs. The Summit is being held at Indore following this Declaration taken in Dhaka. However, Myanmar and Pakistan which is also the member countries had turned down the invitation. (UNI)