Leaders from seven neighboring countries including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe are attending Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony after he secured a third historic term as prime minister following India’s general elections.
They will be among 9,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries and prominent people from around the world, who will be in the capital Delhi to attend Mr Modi’s oath-taking ceremony on Sunday.
The Indian foreign ministry said that leaders from Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and other neighbouring countries “have accepted the invitation to attend” Mr Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
The foreign ministry also released a video on “know the esteemed guests from India’s neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region” attending the ceremony.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Maldives president Mohamed Muizzu, prime minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal will mark the event with their presence.
Prime minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, and vice president of Seychelles, Ahmed Afif, will also arrive in India.
“The visit of the leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of prime minister Shri 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 said.
Full results from India’s marathon election, which began in mid-April, were released on Wednesday. Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of a majority in the elections winning only 240 seats, well below the 272 needed, in a stunning outcome.
However, the BJP-led coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), won the election with 293 seats.
Mr Modi was elected as the leader of the coalition after securing the support of the alliance partners.
