Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday signed an agreement with the Speaker Gombojavyn Zandanshatar of the Great Khural of Mongolia to further strengthen cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.
"I am hopeful that this visit will not only strengthen the existing bond between India and Mongolia but will also open new chapters of friendship between our two Parliaments and people," Birla said wrapping up his three-day visit to Mongolia.
The Mongolian Speaker also gifted Birla a horse as a ceremonial gift, in keeping with a tradition for dignitaries that dates back many years.
Horses have been revered in Mongolia for centuries. The country's breed is shorter than most found in India but appreciated for their strength and resilience in the cold weather.
Birla named the horse Vikrant.
"I could see unlimited goodwill for India. Will deeply cherish the friendship of the Parliament & people of Mongolia," Birla said on Twitter.
The Lok Sabha Speaker also conferred the Indian Council for Cultural Research's Buddhist Award for the year 2022 to Khamba Nomun Khan for promoting Buddhism and spiritual ties between India and Mongolia.
Birla signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his counterpart Zandanshatar to further strengthen and expand cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.
Birla, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation on a three-day visit to Mongolia, paid respects at the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery, the main centre of Buddhism in Mongolia and a repository of valuable Buddhist heritage.
The monastery offers religious and contemporary education to both monks and lay students within its various traditional colleges.
Expressing his happiness on learning that many Mongolian monks from Gandan Monastery were students at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India, Birla emphasized that this was a testimony of the strong cultural ties between the two countries.
Birla visited the Pethub Monastery. He also witnessed a mini Nadaam festival centred around three traditional games: horse racing, wrestling and archery.
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