India on Tuesday said that an agreement has been reached in principle with Pakistan to establish a joint working group on decentralisation of power to local bodies.

Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar, who addressed a social editors conference, said an agreement has been reached in principle with Pakistan to establish an India-Pakistan Working Group on decentralisation.

Afghanistan too has been seeking India's advice on establishing institutions of local self-government and the Sri Lankan government has been taking interest in Pachayati Raj in India, Aiyar said in a background note circulated at the conference.

He said Bangladesh has expressed its interests in exchanging experiences on local government and so have South Africa and Brazil.

India's success in decentralising democracy at the grassroots level through panchayats has encouraged a number of developing countries to follow the model, Aiyar said.

He said, "There is a growing and welcome involvement with local government in other countries, especially those in the South Asian region and the developing world."

At the invitation of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, his ministry was taking steps to join the forum, Aiyar said, adding that even Norway, the United Kingdom and the European Union had shown increasing interest in Panchayati Raj, along with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the World Bank and UNDP.