PRESS RELEASE BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER Speaker Farrugia participates in the 28th CSPOC Conference in New Delhi, India

Speaker of the House of Representatives Anġlu Farrugia participated in the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), which was held in the Indian Parliament in New Delhi between 14 and 18 January 2026.

The main items on the agenda of the 2026 Conference were Balancing Innovation, Oversight and Adaption of AI in Parliament, the Impact of Social Media on Parliamentarians, and the Role of Speakers and Presiding Officers in Maintaining Strong Democratic Institutions.

The Conference was addressed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was chaired by the Speaker of the Indian Rajya Sabha Shri Harivansh, and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Chairperson of the 2026 CSPOC Shri Om Birla.

Addressing the Workshop on Balancing Innovation, Oversight and Adaption of AI in Parliament, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia stated that whilst AI is already a part of governance, one would be wrong to consider it as an authority rather than a tool. He argued that the work of parliamentarians remains fundamentally human, requires interpretation, deliberation, compromise and accountability to citizens, and attempting to replace this would weaken democracy. Speaker Farrugia noted nonetheless that AI presents many opportunities for organising information and making it accessible, this by assisting parliamentary work but not directing it. In this context Speaker Farrugia referred to the recent setting up of a Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence by the Maltese House of Representatives.

Speaker Farrugia also chaired the Workshop on Social Media and its Impact on Parliaments on the first day of the Conference and reported on the outcome of this session to the Plenary session on the last day of the Conference.

At the end of the Conference the new members of the Standing Committee for the years 2026-2028 were announced with the Speaker being elected to represent the British Isles and Mediterranean Region for this period.

In the margins of the Conference Speaker Anġlu Farrugia had a brief bilateral meeting with the Speaker of the Indian Rajya Sabha Shri Harivansh, during which meeting both dignitaries discussed issues of mutual interest for Malta and India.

The Speaker was accompanied by the Clerk of the House, Eleanor Scerri, and the Maltese High Commissioner in New Delhi Reuben Gauci.

The Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth is a biennial meeting bringing together Speakers and Presidents of parliaments and legislative assembles across the Commonwealth with the aim of maintaining, fostering, and encouraging impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments; promoting knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms; and developing parliamentary institutions.

At the end of the 2026 session the Presidency of CSPOC was taken on by the UK, which will host the 2028 Conference.

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