India, Mauritius sign pact to institutionalise cooperation between their parliaments

PORT LOUIS (MAURITIUS): India and Mauritius today signed a pact to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments of the two countries.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Speaker of National Assembly of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee after their meeting here.

Mahajan, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to Mauritius, said there is a lot to be learnt by sharing the best practices and experiences as parliamentary democracies.

In this regard, she said the MoU on joint framework for parliamentary support and capacity building is a "visionary step forward", according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

She said the Parliament of India accords great importance to the steady development of parliamentary relations between the two countries.

Mahajan said the relations between the two countries are based on centuries of cultural, linguistic, social and spiritual links that transcend extraneous considerations.

More than political and other considerations, it is the commonality between the two societies and depth and nature of their people-to-people contacts which provide a platform for the sustained growth of friendship and partnership, she said.