Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu emphasised the need for mutual respect among political opponents in democracy and termed debates, discussions and dialogues as the essence of the legislative process.
Naidu, who is on a three nation tour to Gabon, Senegal and Qatar, made these remarks during the delegation level talks with the President (Speaker) of the National Assembly of Senegal, Mr. Moustapha Niasse in the capital city of Dakar.
During the talks, he emphasised the need for all nations to work towards building peace. Terming peace as prerequisite for progress, Naidu underscored that India advocates peaceful resolution to all issues in the world.
He said that India, the largest democracy in the world, and Senegal, one of the most stable and model democracies in Africa, are natural development partners and share a natural affinity with each other. He appreciated Senegal for conducting presidential, parliamentary and local elections very peacefully since its Independence, in a free, fair and transparent manner.
“Just like India, democracy has been the bulwark of Senegal to guarantee political stability, economic growth, social cohesion and prominence in the international community,” he added. Underlining the warm and friendly relations between the two countries, the Vice President reiterated India’s commitment to the socio-economic development of Senegal.
Expressing the need to have regular exchange of Parliamentarians to strengthen the cooperation and to share experiences, Naidu invited the Speaker of National Assembly to visit India.
