New Delhi: According to people familiar with the matter, India is likely to invite leaders from a number of its neighboring countries, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony this weekend. PM Modi is set to become prime minister for a historic third time after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
According to the people cited above, top leaders from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and Mauritius are expected to be among those invited to Modi’s oath-taking ceremony. The media division of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said Modi invited him to the swearing-in. It stated that Wickremesinghe had accepted the invite.
According to the report, Wickremesinghe congratulated Modi on his election victory over the phone. “During the conversation, Prime Minister @narendramodi invited President Wickremesinghe to his swearing-in ceremony, which President @RW_UNP accepted,” said the tweet.
Modi also spoke by phone with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the phone conversation, Modi invited Hasina to his swearing-in ceremony, which she accepted, according to diplomatic sources.
According to the people cited above, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will be invited to Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
Modi and Prachanda had separate phone conversations. According to one of the people cited above, formal invitations will be sent out on Thursday. The leaders of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries attended Modi’s first swearing-in ceremony as prime minister, following the BJP’s massive electoral victory.
Leaders from BIMSTEC countries attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in 2019 when he became prime minister for the second time. Modi is expected to take oath on June 8. Though the BJP did not win a majority on its own in the elections, the party-led alliance won 293 seats out of 543.