News Brief
PM Modi's Third Term: Top Leaders Of India's Neighbouring Countries To Be Invited To The Grand Oath-Taking Event - All About It
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with her Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. (Representative Image)
India is expected to invite leaders from neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, to the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend.
PM Modi is set to assume office for a historic third consecutive term after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
The top leaders from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and Mauritius are likely to receive invitations for the ceremony.
The media division of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office confirmed that PM Modi invited him to the event, and Wickremesinghe accepted the invitation.
Wickremesinghe also congratulated PM Modi on the electoral victory during a phone call.
"During the conversation, Prime Minister @narendramodi invited President Wickremesinghe to his swearing-in ceremony, which President @RW_UNP accepted," stated the media division of Sri Lankan President's office.
Other leaders expected to be invited include Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
PM Modi had a separate phone conversation with Prachanda as well. Formal invitations are set to be sent on Thursday (6 June).
In PM Modi's previous swearing-in ceremonies, leaders of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries attended in 2014, while leaders of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries attended in 2019.
PM Modi is likely to take the oath on 8 June.
Although the BJP did not achieve a majority on its own, the party-led NDA alliance secured 293 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, surpassing the majority mark of 272.
