On February 23, in New Delhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the establishment of Parliamentary Friendship Groups with over sixty nations, marking a significant step towards enhancing India's inter-parliamentary relations and strengthening traditional diplomacy through ongoing legislative collaboration.

This initiative unites Members of Parliament from various political factions to head these groups, showcasing the inclusive and multifaceted character of Indian democracy on the international platform.

Prominent leaders such as Ravi Shankar Prasad, M. Thambidurai, P. Chidambaram, Ram Gopal Yadav, TR Baalu, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Gaurav Gogoi, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Manish Tiwari, Derek O’Brien, Abhishek Banerjee, Asaduddin Owaisi, Akhilesh Yadav, K.C. Venugopal, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Singh, Baijayant Panda, Shashi Tharoor, Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Singh Thakur, Bhartruhari Mahtab, D. Purandeswari, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Hema Malini, Biplab Kumar Deb, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Jagdambika Pal, Sasmit Patra, Aparajita Sarangi, Shrikant Eknath Shinde, P.V. Midhun Reddy, and Praful Patel will lead these respective groups.

The initial phase targets countries including Sri Lanka, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Maldives, United States, Russia, European Union, South Korea, Nepal, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Oman, Australia, Greece, Singapore, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Iran, and United Arab Emirates.

Plans are in place to broaden this network to include even more nations. These groups aim to facilitate direct communication between lawmakers, sharing legislative experiences, exchanging best practices, and discussing areas such as trade, technology, social policies, culture, and collective global challenges faced by democracies.

This initiative is designed to foster trust, promote mutual understanding, and enhance bilateral ties through continuous interactions, study missions, and collaborative deliberations.

This formation builds on the multi-party outreach initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Operation Sindoor, which involved cross-party delegations traveling abroad to convey India's unified stance on national security and interests. This effort showcased India's capacity to rise above political divides and present a cohesive voice on vital issues.

The Speaker's decision formalizes this ethos by establishing structured and enduring parliamentary channels for global collaboration. Om Birla has consistently championed parliamentary diplomacy to elevate India's standing on the world stage, positioning the legislature as an active player in international forums.

The groups emphasize a participatory foreign policy that values people-to-people and institution-to-institution connections grounded in democratic principles.

By bridging party lines and engaging leaders from across the political spectrum, this initiative illustrates the robustness and maturity of India's democratic framework.

Ultimately, it reinforces the role of Parliament as an essential link between nations, fostering ongoing cooperation and collaboration in an increasingly interconnected world.