Speaker of the National Assembly, the Rt Honourable Ms Nelly B K Mutti, SC, MP, FAPRA, has said that the continued cordial relations shared between India and Zambia are essential in maximising initiatives to enhance skills development among Members of Parliament (MPs) and staff.
She said this when the Indian High Commissioner to Zambia, His Excellency Mr Shri Alok Ranjan Jha paid a courtesy call on her, on Wednesday, 17th December, 2025 at Parliament Buildings.
Speaker Mutti said there is need to explore various avenues, such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at harnessing and elevating the technical expertise of MPs and staff.
She noted that this would provide a framework between the Parliamentary Institutes of the two countries
His Excellency, Mr Shri Alok Ranjan Jha echoed the importance of a Memorandum, noting that it would provide a platform for improved curriculum development tailored to the needs of the Zambian Parliamentarians.
Meanwhile, Deputy Clerk of Administration, Mr Sage Samuwika, said that benchmarking visits by the Zambian Parliament to India led to the establishment of the Institute of Parliamentary Studies and Training (IPST), with the vision of enhancing the technical skills of both MPs and staff, to facilitate improved policy-making and understanding among other key issues.
“Your Excellency, may I make mention that there is an already growing interest from our staff for such educational programmes,” he said.
And Director of the Research Department, Mr. Barnabas Bwalya, said the department was keen to benefit from the Parliament of India’s long institutional memory through the National Assembly’s newly established Parliamentary Institute.
He said the collaboration would help the department adapt its research products to enhance staff efficiency and ensure that findings are presented in a clear, accessible and communicable manner for Members of Parliament addressing issues on the floor of the House and to the public.
The courtesy call was a run-up to the upcoming Commonwealth Parliament Speakers Conference to be held in New Dehli, India in February 2026. Other matters discussed were how to enhance collaborations between the two countries Parliamentary Friendship Groups and knowledge sharing in the information and communications technology (ICT) and energy sector.
