Won't allow any country to raise non-agenda issues in meet: Serbia

Serbia has assured India it would not allow any country to raise issues that are not on the agenda of the proposed inter-parliamentary union (IPU) meeting to be held in the Balkan nation.

The assurance was given to Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh during a bilateral meeting ahead of the fourth meeting of speakers of Eurasian countries' parliaments in Kazakhstan, according to a statement.

It assumes significance at a time when some countries are raising extraneous matters at the international conferences. Pakistan has been raising the Kashmir issue at international conferences, as it had done so in Sri Lanka during an inter-parliamentary union conference there.

A parliamentary delegation headed by Harivansh is attending the Eurasian mean in Kazakhstan capital Nur-Sultan.

The two-day meet that started on Monday aims to increase the dialogue and trust among the parliaments of Europe and Asia for greater participation and cooperation.

The conference aims at paving the way to build shared vision and suggest ways to ensure sustainable development of the Eurasian region, a Rajya Sabha statement said.

India has been an active and important participant in the earlier conferences, where heads of parliament from 84 European and Asian countries and those of 16 international and inter-parliamentary organisations have also been invited to attend.

Before the start of the plenary in the afternoon, Harivansh had a one-to-one meeting with Claudette Buttigieg, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta.

During the bilateral meeting, Harivansh emphasised the need to ensure peace, stability and progress with mutual cooperation and trust among the parliaments of the Eurasian region. He also underlined the need for developing a convergence on important matters of mutual interest between Malta and India.

Harivansh also solicited Malta's support to India on major multilateral and bilateral issues.

Rajya Sabha Secretary-General Desh Deepak Verma is also attending the conference.