Abhishek will be part of Parl Friendship Groups

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee will be a part of Parliamentary Friendship Groups that the Lok Sabha Speaker OM Birla has constituted with over 60 countries, in a move to boost “India’s inter-Parliamentary engagement with the world”.

Besides Banerjee, Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien and Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar will also be there in the Parliamentary Friendship Groups.

The countries with which the Parliamentary Friendship Groups have been constituted are Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, USA, Israel, Brazil, Italy, Singapore, Greece, Australia, Mexico, Iran, UAE, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, among others.

The idea behind the initiative is to allow lawmakers to speak directly to their counterparts abroad, share legislative experience, and build trust through regular engagement and exchange best practices to further strengthen bilateral relations and promote greater mutual understanding. Beyond parliamentary procedure, the groups are expected to facilitate conversations on trade, technology, social policy, culture, and global challenges that democracies face today.

By prioritising Parliament-to-Parliament and people-to-people connections, this initiative signals a more participatory approach to foreign engagement, reads a statement issued by PIB. The Friendship Groups will enable structured exchanges through dialogues, study visits, and joint discussions, helping to sustain long-term cooperation rooted in democratic values. In doing so, the Indian Parliament reinforces its role as a bridge between nations and as a living reflection of the world’s largest democracy.

The group leaders also include Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shashi Tharoor, Akhilesh Yadav, P. Chidambaram, Asaduddin Owaisi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Supriya Sule, Baijayant Panda, Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Singh Thakur, Hema Malini, Biplab Kumar Deb, and Sudhanshu Trivedi.

Earlier, Banerjee, as a part of the delegation, had visited Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia after “Operation Sindoor” was carried out. He had not only raised the issue of terrorism, but he had also discussed some key issues.