Top leaders from India’s neighborhood and the Indian Ocean region, including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, arrived to Delhi on Sunday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister. -appoint Narendra Modi and the Union council of ministers.
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay also arrived in Delhi for the ceremony where Modi will take oath for his third consecutive term along with his ministerial colleagues. Bangladesh President Sheikh Hasina and Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif arrived in Delhi on Saturday.
Among foreign leaders, Muizzu’s visit has taken on added significance as it came against a backdrop of significant tensions between India and the Maldives. It is Muizzu’s first visit to India after becoming president of the island nation on November 17 last year.
The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 7:15 pm at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“President @MMuizzu of Maldives receives a warm welcome in New Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on “X”. “India and Maldives are maritime partners and close neighbors,” he added.
On Saturday, Muizzu said he looked forward to working with Modi to further strengthen close relations with India, noting that the relationship between the two countries is heading in the “positive direction.”
Ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain after Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took office.
Within hours of taking oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians earlier this month.
Following Tobgay’s arrival, Jaiswal said the visit would “further strengthen the close ties of friendship and cooperation between India and Bhutan”.
On Wickremesinghe’s visit, the MEA spokesperson said that India and Sri Lanka are civilizational partners and enjoy strong and long-standing bilateral ties.
Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda was the last to arrive in Delhi.
“The visit reflects the unique ties between India and Nepal and will also give further impetus to our multifaceted relationship,” Jaiswal said on “X”.
“The leaders’ visit to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term is in line with the top priority accorded by India to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and its ‘SAGAR’ vision.” , stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
India has been cooperating with countries in the Indian Ocean region under the broader policy framework of SAGAR or Security and Growth for All in the Region.
In addition to participating in the swearing-in ceremony, the foreign leaders will also attend a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.
Modi is likely to hold separate bilateral meetings with foreign leaders.
Leaders from countries in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) regional group attended Modi’s first swearing-in ceremony as he took the reins as prime minister after a massive election victory for the BJP.
Leaders of BIMSTEC countries attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in 2019, when he became prime minister for the second consecutive term.
This time, though the BJP could not win a majority on its own in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the party-led alliance won 293 seats out of 543. The majority in the lower house is 272.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina visited BJP patriarch LK Advani at his residence.
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