Today, the President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergmamet Meira Kumar, the Speaker of the Lower House of the Parliament of India (the Lok Sabha) on an official visit in New Delhi. During the conversation, bilateral relations of the European Union and India as well as Estonia and India were discussed.

At the meeting, Ergma observed that India is a world player not only in terms of its population, territory and ancient history but also in terms of its everyday wisdom and wisdom in running the state, as well as its consistency. She called India rightfully the biggest democracy in the world. She also drew parallels between the non-violent fight and civil disobedience in India and the Baltic Way and restoration of the independence of Estonia.

Ergma noted that, in the current world, we respect cultural diversity, the “only climate enabling the persistence of a small nation and its identity in the world amongst other nations”. She expressed the hope that the contacts and parliamentary ties between Estonia and India would receive a new impetus with this visit. She also invited the Speaker of the Indian parliament to visit Estonia.

Meira Kumar thanked Estonia for its political support to India. “Estonia is not a small country engaged in introspection and dealing only with its own problems. As a member of the EU and NATO, Estonia is contributing internationally,” she said.

Kumar said that, besides political relations, economic relations also need developing, and innovative solutions should be found for that. She mentioned information and communication technology, telecommunication, gene technology, energy and food industry as potential areas.

Together with Ergma, Chairman of the Environment Committee Mart Jüssi, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa and Members of the Riigikogu Peeter Tulviste and Raivo Järvi, and Secretary General of the Riigikogu Heiki Sibul are staying in India as members of the Riigikogu delegation. This morning, the delegation also visited the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi and placed a wreath on it. They also met the organisers of “Teeme ära” (Let’s Do It) in New Delhi who are planning to carry out a cleaning in New Delhi, similarly to the cleaning campaign which was carried out in Estonia.