Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Dr. Ganesh Gaunker, Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, will join the Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla at the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Bridgetown, Barbados, from October 5 to 12, 2025.
Organized annually by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the CPC brings together legislators, presiding officers, and parliamentarians from 56 Commonwealth nations to discuss governance, democracy, development, and international cooperation. This year’s conference is being held under the theme “The Commonwealth – A Global Partner.”
Dr. Gaunker is scheduled to participate in Workshop D on “Climate Change and its Threat to Global Health – Finding Sustainable Solutions”, where he will highlight challenges faced by coastal states like Goa, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, changing rainfall patterns, and vector-borne diseases. He will share insights on how legislative institutions can adopt innovative policies to strengthen public health and sustainability.
He will also attend Workshop E, “Building Trust and Transparency in Democracy: Financial Transparency in Parliaments and Elections”, to discuss ways to enhance accountability, ensure financial transparency, and safeguard electoral integrity. Dr. Gaunker is expected to share Goa’s experience in promoting legislative transparency and fostering public trust.
The Speaker’s presence also holds symbolic importance for the global Goan diaspora, strengthening people-to-people connections and projecting Goa as a state committed to democratic values, sustainable governance, and international engagement.
The 68th CPC will feature plenary sessions, panel discussions, and workshops addressing issues such as multilateralism, digital governance, inclusive policy-making, climate action, and parliamentary reforms. For Goa, participation offers an opportunity to contribute to global policy discussions while learning from the experiences of other Commonwealth legislatures.
Goa has historically played a key role in the Commonwealth, hosting the 1982 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and continues to maintain strong ties through its widespread diaspora in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other member states.
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