Indian democracy serves many examples for Commonwealth: Jaishankar

Kigali (Rwanda): Lauding the Indian democracy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it has numerous examples for the Commonwealth and emphasized the importance of collective addressing key challenges such as post-COVID recovery, climate change and global conflicts, PTI reported.

Speaking at the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Foreign Ministers' plenary, themed Democracy, Peace and Governance, the minister claimed that India's digital backbone is of particular relevance.

"India - the world's largest democracy - offers numerous examples for the Commonwealth," he said.

Jaishankar tweeted later, "Underscored the importance of collectively addressing the crucial challenges of our times, including post COVID recovery, climate change and ongoing global conflicts."

The MEA had said in a statement released on Tuesday that the Leaders of the Commonwealth Member States are scheduled to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance, including global challenges like - climate change, food security, and health issues, and are likely to adopt the following four Outcome Documents: CHOGM Communique; Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform; Declaration on Sustainable Urbanisation and Commonwealth Living Lands Charter: A Commonwealth Call to Action on Living Lands (CALL).

Jaishankar, who is leading the Indian squad to the CHOGM, will represent Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Commonwealth Summit on June 24-25. CHOGM was postponed twice after the breakout of Covid-19.

India, one of the most significant contributors to the Commonwealth, has assisted the organization with technical aid as well as capacity building. The country had proclaimed the setting up of the Commonwealth Window in 2018, dedicating USD 50 million for development projects and assistance to developing countries of the Commonwealth.