Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla, today, stressed that India, as a close and friendly neighbour with deep people-to-people ties with Myanmar, sincerely desires peace and stability in Myanmar. Shri Birla also welcomed the progress being made by Myanmar towards peace and national reconciliation and conveyed India’s readiness to remain a strong and dependable partner in this journey. He made these remarks while welcoming a parliamentary delegation from Myanmar led by Dr. Pwint San, Chairperson, International Relations Committee, Parliament of Myanmar. The delegation is visiting India to participate in a capacity-building programme organised by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE).

During his interaction with the Delegation, Shri Birla emphasised that India and Myanmar share deep-rooted and enduring ties, strengthened by ancient civilisational links and their common Buddhist heritage. He noted that Myanmar occupies an important place in India’s three key foreign policy frameworks—Act East, Neighbourhood First and the Indo-Pacific. The Lok Sabha Speaker also highlighted that bilateral relations between the two countries are broad-based and strategic, encompassing cooperation in politics, security, defence, trade, investment, connectivity, development and humanitarian assistance. He further underlined that India has always stood by Myanmar in times of need and has been among the first to extend assistance whenever required.

Shri Birla also noted that regular high-level engagements, particularly meetings between the top leadership of the two countries, have contributed significantly to further strengthening bilateral relations. He reiterated India’s willingness to share its experience in the functioning of parliamentary institutions, rules and procedures, as well as democratic traditions, with Myanmar as it works towards building strong and inclusive democratic institutions.

Mentioning that the Parliament of India has remained at the heart of the country’s vibrant democracy since the Constitution came into force in 1950 and the first Lok Sabha was constituted in 1952, Shri Birla noted that over the decades, India’s democratic institutions have continuously evolved, and with the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha following the General Elections held in June 2024, another significant chapter has been opened in the country’s democratic journey. He also highlighted India’s experience in modernising its electoral process, including the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, followed subsequently by the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system to enhance transparency and voter verification.

Referring to Myanmar’s recent electoral developments, Shri Birla noted that the country conducted general elections for the National Parliament and State/Regional Legislatures in three phases between December 2025 and January 2026. He observed that the elections were particularly significant as they witnessed, for the first time, the use of proportional representation and electronic voting machines. He described these changes as an important milestone in Myanmar’s electoral process and a significant step towards strengthening its democratic institutions.

Concluding his remarks, Shri Birla expressed the hope that the programme would prove highly useful and contribute to strengthening the delegation’s understanding of parliamentary practices and democratic institutions. The visit would provide an opportunity for meaningful exchanges and further deepen parliamentary cooperation between India and Myanmar, he added.

Glad to meet Dr. Pwint San, Chairman, International Relations Committee, and the esteemed Parliamentary Delegation from Myanmar at the Parliament of India.

Our discussions focused on strengthening our shared civilizational heritage, enhancing parliamentary cooperation, sharing… pic.twitter.com/hITCOf1n3x

— Om Birla (@ombirlakota) September 2, 2026

***

AM

(रिलीज़ आईडी: 2306160) आगंतुक पटल : 134