Fourth South Asian Speakers’ Summit

Fourth South Asian Speakers
Question: Recently, where did the fourth South Asian Speakers’ Summit take place?
(a) Dhaka
(b) Colombo
(c) Male
(d) Rangoon
Answer: (c)
Related facts:
  • The 4th South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took place on 1-2 September 2019.
  • It was jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the People’s Majlis in Male (Maldives).
  • This is the fourth event in a series of Speakers’ Summits for the region on SDGs, the previous three having been hosted by the Jatiya Sangsad of Bangladesh (in 2016), the Sansad of India (in 2017) and the Parliament of Sri Lanka (2018).
  • Indian delegation was headed by Speaker Lok Sabha Om Birla who also held bilateral talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Wangchuk Namgyel.
  • Male Declaration was adopted at the end of summit which accepted that Kashmir situation is an internal matter of India after Pakistan raised the issue of the recent abrogation of Article 370 granting special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
  • The Summit is intended for Speakers of the Parliaments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Links:

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/south-asian-speakers-summit-ignores-pakistan-assertions-on-kashmir-calls-it-india-internal-matter/story/376937.html

https://www.ipu.org/event/fourth-south-asian-speakers-summit-achieving-sdgs

https://maldivesindependent.com/politics/south-asian-speakers-summit-begins-in-maldives-147668