The oath-taking ceremony of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister-elect, Tarique Rahman, is drawing a significant line-up of foreign dignitaries to Dhaka today, with representatives arriving from across South Asia and beyond.
India will be represented at the ceremony by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, expected to be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who received the invitation, will not be attending, as he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday in Mumbai.
Confirmed international attendees to the oath ceremony include: Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.
Foreign ministers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan are also expected to be present.
According toOutlook India, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media – Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa are also among the foreign dignitaries expected to attend.
Furthermore, heads of government from over a dozen countries have been invited, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Leaders from China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, and Brunei were invited as well.
Breaking the tradition, the oath ceremony will take place at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan, the national parliament complex. According toANI, because many more guests were invited, the Durbar Hall atBangabhavancould not accommodate the large number, so the ceremony is being held at the South Plaza. Around a thousand guests are expected in total.
According to theBangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to Rahman and his cabinet at 4 pm local time. Earlier in the morning, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin swore in the newly elected Members of Parliament.
Rahman’s BNP secured 209 of 297 seats in the 13th parliamentary elections held on February 12, with Jamaat-e-Islami emerging as the main opposition with 68 seats. The Awami League, led by ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was barred from contesting the polls.
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
