148th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly

• Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh participated in the 148th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, in Geneva, Switzerland. He led the Indian parliamentary delegation.
• The delegation includes five Rajya Sabha members – S. Niranjan Reddy, Kartikeya Sharma, Ashok Mittal, Prashanta Nanda, and Sumitra Balmik – along with Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody.
• The Indian delegation highlighted the issues such as parliamentary diplomacy and building bridges for peace and understanding.
• The delegation attended the meetings of the IPU Asia Pacific Geo Political Group, APG BRICS Parliamentary Coordination Forum and IPU Forum of Women Parliamentarians. It also held a bilateral meeting with the Parliamentary delegation of Thailand.

ABOUT INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

• The Inter-Parliamentary Union is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development.
• The organization was established in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Congress.
• Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
• Membership – 180 Members