Cape Town [South Africa], October 4 (ANI): Rajya Sabha Vice Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh met South Africa's National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza and held bilateral talks with her in Cape Town on Friday (local time).

Apart from meeting Didiza, Singh also held bilateral meeting with Omid Nouripour, who is the Vice President of Germany's Federal Parliament, Bundestag.

Earlier, Singh held a series of bilateral meetings with presiding officers from the Parliaments of Russia, Germany, Italy, and host South Africa on the sidelines of the 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) in Kleinmond, South Africa.

According to the Office of the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, 'These meetings focused on strengthening bilateral parliamentary cooperation, and presenting India's perspective on trade partnerships, technology, and sustainable development.

'In his meetings with various delegations, the Deputy Chairman also recalled the recent engagements with the Indian delegation comprising MPs who travelled to these nations to put forth India's stance on cross-border terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor,' the statement added.

In his meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia, he recalled various productive engagements between the two nations and long-standing partnerships in key sectors.In his meeting with Omid Nouripur, Vice President of the Bundestag (Lower house of the German Parliament), Singh underlined the potential for more co-operation between the leading democracies and the successful engagement on trade and sustainable development partnership.

The Deputy Chairman also sought Germany's support towards the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The bilateral trade between the two nations on goods and services has crossed USD 50 billion. Germany also has a 'Skilled Labour Strategy' that focuses on facilitating avenues for Indian professionals to come to Germany.

Singh also interacted with the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Thoko Didiza and recalled the historic and strong bilateral ties between the two nations with a common outlook towards upholding international fairness, justice, and the collective interest of developing countries. India is among the top three trading partners of South Africa. (ANI)