Guwahati, Feb 24: Gaurav Gogoi, Assam Congress president and MP from Jorhat, was appointed Chairperson of the India–Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Group, constituted to promote cooperation and institutional collaboration between India and the Philippines.
Om Birla constituted Parliamentary Friendship Groups with 64 countries, comprising members of the 18th Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Each group includes 11 members from both Houses, reflecting cross-party and bicameral participation aimed at strengthening diplomatic engagement through structured legislative dialogue.
The India–Philippines group is expected to enhance bilateral ties in areas such as maritime security, defence, trade, education and people-to-people exchanges, amid growing strategic convergence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Among other key appointments, Shashi Tharoor was named chair of the France group, P. Chidambaram for Italy, K. C. Venugopal for Portugal, Manish Tewari for Australia, and K. Kanimozhi for Greece.
Derek O’Brien was appointed to head the Chile group and Abhishek Banerjee the Algeria group. Arvind Sawant will chair Morocco, while Supriya Sule will head Singapore.
Asaduddin Owaisi was appointed chair of the Oman group, Akhilesh Yadav will lead Japan, and Ram Gopal Yadav will head Egypt. Sanjay Singh was assigned the Caribbean countries group, while N. K. Premachandran will lead Madagascar.
In a notable inclusion, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was appointed as a member of the Japan Friendship Group led by Akhilesh Yadav. Several Opposition MPs who had faced suspension during the Budget Session were also included in various groups, signalling Parliament’s continued emphasis on legislative diplomacy despite domestic political contestation.
