India extends its full support to Togo's socio-economic development: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

New Delhi [India], August 2 : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday welcomed the Togolese delegation and extended India's support to Togo's socio-economic development.
A delegation of ministers, parliamentarians, constitutional court judges and advisors from Togo met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Parliament House.
Birla further assured that India is ready to extend its full support to Togo in the future as well.
He recalled India's journey towards parliamentary Democracy in 1947 and the process of drafting the Constitution of India and said that the process was a long one as the framers of our Constitution minutely studied all the major constitutions of the world and inculcated the best features into the Indian Constitution.
All provisions were debated at length in the Constituent Assembly and the Constitution that emerged as a result of these deliberations has been a guiding light for India for the last 75 years, Birla said.
He further spoke about the robust Committee system in Indian Parliamentary Democracy which functions as a mini-Parliament.
The reports and deliberations of Committees are held in high esteem and are of high academic value for studies of Parliamentary democracy, Birla added.
Referring to the process of drafting a new Constitution in Togo, Birla hoped that the constitutional changes being made in Togo would increase the powers of the Parliament there.
At present, Togo has a Presidential system of governance, which has been changed and now a Parliamentary democratic system of governance is being implemented there, which would be a positive change and would strengthen democracy.
Emphasising the parliamentary democratic system, Birla highlighted that in democracy, the Parliament is the reflection of the sovereign aspirations of the citizens.
He further said that India has made socio-economic changes on the basis of parliamentary democracy in the last 75 years.
"Therefore, our parliaments are the best medium of public welfare," he said.
Referring to the ongoing training programme at PRIDE, Lok Sabha Secretariat, for the Ministers, Members of Parliament and Judges of Constitutional Courts and Advisors of Togo, Birla expressed happiness that in this training programme, the delegation learnt about the functions and powers of both the Houses of the Parliament of India.
Later, Birla asked the Togolese delegation to give their feedback about this training programme, so that this training could be further improved.
After the constitutional changes in Togo, if required, the Indian Parliament would be happy to organize refresher courses or capacity-building programmes for Togo's Ministers, MPs, Constitutional Court judges and advisors, Birla informed.
Speaking on parliamentary capacity-building programmes by PRIDE, Birla said that PRIDE is today the world's leading parliamentary training institute.
So far, Members of Parliament, officers of Parliament and other administrative officers from more than a hundred countries have received training from the PRIDE training institute.
The Togo delegation, led by Gilbert Bawara, Minister of Public Service, Labor and Social Dialogue, expressed profound gratitude and happiness with the outcome of their visit to India.
He commended the orientation programme conducted by PRIDE, noting that as Togo embarks on framing its constitution, this training will be invaluable in their efforts.
He also expressed gratitude for India's support on various international platforms, particularly in advocating for the African Union's entry into the G20.