New Delhi, Jun 3 (PTI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday emphasised the need for mutual respect among political opponents in a democracy and termed debates, discussions and dialogues as the essence of the legislative process.

Naidu, who is on a three nation tour to Gabon, Senegal and Qatar, made these remarks during the delegation level talks with the President (speaker) of the National Assembly of Senegal Moustapha Niasse in the capital city of Dakar.

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Naidu is also chairperson of Rajya Sabha.

According to a statement issued by the Vice President Secretariat, during the talks, he emphasised on the need for all nations to work towards building peace. Terming peace as prerequisite for progress, Naidu underscored that India advocates peaceful resolution to all issues in the world.

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He said that India, the largest democracy in the world, and Senegal, one of the most stable and model democracies in Africa, are natural development partners and share a natural affinity with each other.

He appreciated Senegal for conducting presidential, parliamentary and local elections very peacefully since its Independence, in a free, fair and transparent manner.

“Just like India, democracy has been the bulwark of Senegal to guarantee political stability, economic growth, social cohesion and prominence in the international community,” he noted.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)