Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to go to New Delhi on Saturday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India for a third consecutive term.
The premier will leave Dhaka at 11am and return on Monday.
On Wednesday, Modi invited his Bangladeshi counterpart to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his government during a conversation over telephone. Sheikh Hasina accepted the invitation.
“The main inauguration will be held on Sunday evening and our prime minister is likely to reach New Delhi on Saturday afternoon. She will join the main inauguration,” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said on Thursday.
World leaders including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal are set to attend the function, which will record a presence of over 8,000 dignitaries.
Later on, Sheikh Hasina will pay a full-fledged bilateral visit to New Delhi, India separately at a mutually convenient time, which is likely to see signing of a number of agreements and MoUs and some important announcements.
“We are working on a separate visit. The current one is more of a ceremonial visit, marking a special occasion. We will work on a schedule later,” Momen said.
Earlier, Modi invited Hasina to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his government, and she accepted the invitation. He also thanked PM Hasina for her warm wishes following his election victory.
PM Hasina was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Modi, reflecting the warmth and personal rapport between the two leaders.