In a joint statement released earlier this week, Prime Ministers Stefan Löfven, of Sweden, and Narendra Modi, of India, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in the protection of democracy and human rights globally. International IDEA is central to that cooperation as both countries are founding Member States of the organization and highly active in our work.
“Based on long democratic traditions in both countries, the two Prime Ministers expressed a continued commitment to democracy, rule of law, promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement read.
“They welcomed the fruitful cooperation between the two countries on strengthening the role of democratic governance globally, both through the UN, and its subsidiary bodies including the Human Rights Council, and through organizations like International IDEA.”
As the world’s largest democracy, India enjoys a close collaboration with International IDEA. In 2015 International IDEA organized the regional conference on The use of money in politics and its effects on people’s representation jointly with the Election Commission of India and the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).
The conference was inaugurated by Dr Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner of India and Secretary-General Yves Leterme, with the participation of the former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr S.Y. Quraishi, who is a long-standing member of the International IDEA Board of Advisers.
The full statement can be found on the Indian Embassy website and the website of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
