Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, during the inaugural address at the ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) at New Delhi's Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, said that Parliaments across the world must work together to fight terrorism. He talked about how India has been facing cross-border terrorism for decades and said, "India has been facing cross-border terrorism for many years now. Around 20 years ago, terrorists targeted our Parliament at the time when the session was on. The world is also realising how big a challenge terrorism is for the globe and that it is against humanity. Parliaments in the world and their representatives have to think how to work together in this fight against terrorism."
He added that a world full of conflicts and confrontation cannot benefit anyone. The Prime Minister said, "A world full of conflicts and confrontation cannot benefit anyone. A divided world cannot give solutions to the challenges before us. This is a time for peace and brotherhood, a time to move together, a time to move forward together. This is the time for development and welfare of all."
PM Modi during his inaugural address said that this summit is the 'Mahakumbh' of parliamentary practices of the world. He added, "Parliaments across the world are an important place for debate and deliberations."
He then talked about the success of Chandrayaan-3 and said, "India landed on the Moon. India hosted the G20 Summit successfully. Today, we are hosting the P20 Summit. This Summit is also a medium to celebrate the power of the people of our country. P20 Summit is being organised in India, which is the mother of democracy and the world's biggest democracy too."
PM Modi invited everyone to witness the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections and said, "India has been using EVMs for over 25 years now to increase transparency and efficiency during elections. In 2024, during the general elections, around 100 crore or 1 billion voters are going to cast their votes. I invite all the delegates to visit India to witness the next general elections."
He also talked about women's representation and said, "India has decided to provide 33% reservation to women in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. There are about 32 lakh elected representatives in local self-governance institutions in India. Out of these, about 50% are women representatives. India today promotes women's participation in every sector...Hundreds of languages are spoken in India. There are more than 900 TV channels in India in 28 languages... More than 33,000 different newspapers are published in about 200 languages."
The summit is being hosted by Parliament under the broader framework of India's G20 Presidency.
Speakers and heads of delegation from Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Spain, European Parliament, Italy, South Africa, Russia, Turkiye, Nigeria, Australia, Brazil, UAE, Singapore, Japan, Egypt and Bangladesh are also present today in the event to be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi soon. Notably, Canada is missing from this Summit amid the diplomatic row with India over the Nijjar killing.
The theme of the 9th P20 Summit is in line with the theme of India's G20 Presidency. The theme for this summit is “Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future,” stated an official release from the Prime Minister's Office.
The event was attended by Speakers of Parliaments of G20 members and invitee countries. The Pan-African Parliament took part in the P20 Summit for the first time ever as the African Union became a member of G20 recently at New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit which was held on September 9 and 10.
The thematic sessions during this P20 Summit will be focusing primarily on four subjects, namely -- Transformation in People’s Lives through Public Digital Platforms, Women-led development, Accelerating SDGs, and Sustainable Energy Transition, stated the release from the PMO.
On the sidelines of the 9th P20 Summit, Speaker of the Federation Council, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko met with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi. The conversation took place after the opening ceremony of the forum.
The Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation at the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) is also represented by First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Andrei Turchak, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council.
Earlier, a pre-summit Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) was held earlier on Thursday to deliberate upon initiatives towards a greener and sustainable future in harmony with nature.
Watch PM Modi's full address here: