Narendra Modi oath ceremony: Who will attend event amid ‘Neighbourhood First’ push?
Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi will take oath of office on Sunday in the national capital in the presence of a host of foreign dignitaries, including the heads of several neighbouring countries. He is expected to meet these visiting foreign leaders the next day.
Maldives president Mohamed Muizzu, whose apparent China-tilt strained the country’s relation with India, might also attend the grand event.
Muizzu will likely leave for New Delhi on Saturday for the ceremony, along with several senior Maldives government officials.
The heads of governments of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius and Seychelles are among the neighbours who have been invited for Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
Among them, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda have confirmed their presence.
Dahal and Ranil Wickremesinghe will arrive in Delhi on June 9. PM Hasina is likely to fly to Delhi today.
Dahal and PM Modi spoke with each other via phone, when the former confirmed his attendance, reported ANI.
PM Sheikh Hasina will leave Dhaka at 11 am today.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave Dhaka for Delhi at 11 am on Saturday, June 8 and will return home at noon on June 10 after attending the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi, due to the change in the oath-taking ceremony dates,” said Bangladesh PM’s Speech Writer, M Nazrul Islam.
New Delhi has invited these leaders as part of India’s Neighbourhood First policy.
If Muizzu comes to India, it could prove to be a significant step towards easing the tensions between the two traditional partners. One of Muizzu’s predecessors, Abdullah Yameen, had attended Modi’s oath ceremony in May 2014.
India and the Maldives’ relations soured after Muizzu came to power in November 2023. He has asked India to withdraw its military personnel from the country. He had contested the polls on the India Out plank.
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won India’s general elections with a seats tally of 293. The Opposition’s INDIA bloc won 234 seats.