BANGLADESH is learnt to be in the process of inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other regional leaders for the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s next prime minister, Tarique Rahman, on February 17, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
It is learnt that Dhaka has already communicated its plan to New Delhi. There is no official word on the invitation yet.
Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has indicated that leaders of several countries in the region would be invited for the ceremony.
Modi is unlikely to travel to Dhaka as he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on February 17.
New Delhi may send a senior government functionary to attend Rahman’s swearing-in ceremony, it is learnt.
In a phone conversation with Rahman on Friday, Modi congratulated the BNP leader on his party’s remarkable victory in the Bangladesh parliamentary election.
“I conveyed my best wishes and support in his endeavour to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh,” Modi said after the call.
“As two close neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India’s continued commitment to the peace, progress, and prosperity of both our peoples,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
