Strong India will contribute to more stable & prosperous world

ACCRA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to Ghana's Parliament on Thursday witnessed pleasant moments of surprise when he said, "India has over 2,500 political parties."

- MPOST BUREAU

"I repeat, 2,500 political parties," he smiled, prompting ripples of surprising reactions from the parliamentarians. PM Modi addressed the Ghana Parliament in English.

Dwelling upon democracy, PM Modi described India as the "mother of democracy," stressing the importance of openness and dialogue in a democratic setup. "True democracy promotes discussion and debate. It unites people, it supports dignity and promotes human rights," he said.

"Hamare liye loktantra system nahi, sanskaar hai," PM Modi said in Hindi. He then repeated the sentence in English, "For us, democracy is not just a system, it is a part of our fundamental values."

He highlighted India's vast diversity as a strength of its democratic fabric. "Twenty different parties governing different states, 22 official languages, thousands of dialects.

This is also the reason that people who have come to India have always been welcomed with open hearts," he said.

Following PM Modi's address, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, also repeated the humongous figure of "2,500 political parties", which elicited laughter from Ghana MPs as well as PM Modi.

PM Modi said a strong India will contribute to a more stable and prosperous world as he pushed for credible and effective reforms in global governance in the wake of changing circumstances.

In his address, Modi also said that progress cannot come without giving voice to the Global South.

Noting that India is the fastest-growing emerging economy, Modi said that on the foundations of stable polity and governance, India will soon become the thirdlargest economy.