Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has said that North East occupies an important place for the people of this country.  Inaugurating  the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference of India Region , Zone III in Guwahati today , Ms. Mahajan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given stress on development of the North East. Expressing concern over insurgency , Ms. Mahajan said, no socio- political development is possible without peace.<br />''<br />'' On women empowerment, she said that no debate would be meaningful without addressing women related issues.  On Speaker's Research Initiative, she said that  it provides a platform to the legislators to interact with domain experts and their peers.<br />''<span style="color: #222222;"><br />''Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, who was also present on the occasion,  said that Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference has played an important role in promoting democracy. <br />''<br />''He congratulated Assam Legislative assembly for its commendable journey to preserve democratic values. Speakers and Deputy Speakers of state assemblies ,  several MPs and MLAs from the North Eastern states participated in the conference.</span>