PM Modi’s Swearing-In Ceremony: Mauritius’ Jugnauth, Bangladesh’s Hasina, Maldives’ Muizzu Arrive

World leaders invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers’ swearing-in ceremony arrived in New Delhi on Saturday. Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu arrived in New Delhi and were greeted by Indian officials at the airport.

The Sri Lankan government said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe will arrive in New Delhi shortly. Earlier, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif arrived in New Delhi for the swearing-in ceremony.

Besides Muizzu, Jugnauth, Hasina and Afif, the other leaders attending the ceremony are Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

“The visit of the leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term is in keeping with the highest priority accorded by India to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘SAGAR’ vision,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

India has been cooperating with the countries of 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.

The leaders of regional grouping SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries attended Modi’s first swearing ceremony when he took the reins as prime minister after a massive electoral victory for BJP.

Leaders of the BIMSTEC countries attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, in 2019 when he became prime minister for the second consecutive term.

Though the BJP could not get a majority on its own in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the party-led alliance secured 293 seats out of 543. The majority mark in the lower house is 272.