India
Updated : May 22, 2014, 05:54 PM IST
As per the desire of Prime Minister elect Narendra Modi, invitations were sent out to heads of states of South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations requesting them to be a part of Modi's swearing in ceremony in New Delhi on Monday, May 26. The BJP leader, who won the Lok Sabha elections with landslide victory, has also invited his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, to be part of the event.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) processed invites to leaders from the eight-member SAARC for Modi's swearing in, including Nawaz Sharif, who will be on the guest list, spokeswoman Nirmala Sitharaman said.
PM Sharif is, however, yet to confirm. He is still considering whether or not to attend the swearing in ceremony, and a final decision will be taken by Thursday evening after consultations with Pakistan's civil and military leaders, officials said. Pakistan's foreign office has confirmed that the formal invitation has been received, but any decision by the prime minister to attend the ceremony on May 26 in New Delhi has not been taken as yet. Read more
Afghanistan's head of state Hamid Karzai has confirmed his presence, while Bangladesh will be sending Parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to attend Modi's oath-taking ceremony.
#India receives confirmation of participation from #Afghanistan - Prez Karzai to attend @narendramodi swearing-in ceremony on May 26.
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) May 22, 2014
#India receives confirmation of participation from #SriLanka @PresRajapaksa to attend @narendramodi swearing-in ceremony on 26 May
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) May 22, 2014
#India receives confirmation of participation from #Maldives - Prez Abdulla Yameen to attend @narendramodi swearing-in ceremony on 26 May
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) May 22, 2014
#India receives confirmation of participation from #Bhutan - PM Tobgay to attend @narendramodi swearing-in ceremony.
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) May 22, 2014
Modi's move to invite the leaders of neighbouring countries for his swearing in was lauded by leaders across parties, including the Congress' Shashi Tharoor and Digvijay Singh.
I am impressed by @narendramodi 's conciliatory&inclusive statements. We must ensure he lives up2them&works4 for the benefit of ALL Indians
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 21, 2014
Welcome Modi's initiative in inviting Pakistan PM for his oath ceremony.
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 22, 2014
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also tweeted, "Excellent move by Narendra Modi to invite Saarc leaders, specially Pak PM for his swearing-in. Hope this is the beginning of sustained talk,''.
Excellent move by @narendramodi to invite SAARC leaders, especially Pak PM for his swearing in. Hope this is beginning of sustained talks.
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) May 21, 2014
The United States also welcomed the Indian government's initiative and said increased engagement between India and Pakistan is a "positive step". "Broadly speaking, we welcome increased engagement between India and Pakistan and their leaders and other leaders in the region and India's engagement with its neighbours leading up to the inauguration," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters. Read more
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