India-Canada pact on improving governance

The Inter-State Council Secretariat has signed an agreement with Canada's Forum of Federations for creating a mutually supportive international partnership for improving governance and enhancing democracy.
The pact, which will continue for the next three years, provides for creating a mutually supportive international partnership with India for improving governance and enhancing democracy by promoting dialogue on the practices, principles and possibilities of federalism, an official release said.
The Forum is an international organisation of federal countries. It is based in Ottawa in Canada and brings together government practitioners and academics to improve governance and enhance democracy by promoting dialogue and providing policy research on federalism and the challenges of multi-level governance.

The Forum offers partner countries an opportunity to be part of a global network which provides a mechanism for insight into both internal and international governance debates.
The Forum works in the international arena to improve practice of federalism by addressing needs of practitioners of federalism by serving as a clearing house for information and resources on the practice of federalism, offering and implementing policy and partnership programmes with governments and encouraging future practitioners to develop an interest and expertise in federalism.
The Forum has, in the past, worked closely with India on several important issues pertaining to federal governance, fiscal federalism, public security, environmental governance and local government.

The Inter-State Council Secretariat is under the Home Ministry.