Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina Won't Attend PM's Swearing-In For Second Time

For a second time, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will miss Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in on May 30 as she will be on a three-nation foreign visit, officials in Dhaka said Monday.

According to a government release in Dhaka, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq will attend the ceremony as the senior most Cabinet member of the Bangladesh government.

Prime Minister Hasina will be on a tri-nation visit to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Finland beginning tomorrow, it said.

She could not attend the previous swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi in 2014 as she was abroad then too.

Last time, Parliament Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury attended PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony held on May 26, 2014.

The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported on Monday that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on her way back home after wrapping up her tri-nation visit to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Finland, could make a 12-hour stopover in New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Modi.

However, sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka said that the meeting is not likely to take place due to some changes in her schedule.

Prime Minister Modi will be administered the oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on May 30, the President's Office said yesterday in New Delhi.

Several global leaders including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan have congratulated PM Modi on his resounding victory.

Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a landmark victory for a second five-year term in office, winning 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

Soon after Prime Minister Modi's victory, the two leaders pledged to continue to raise the relationship between the two countries to an "unprecedented new heights".

The Bangladesh Prime Minister was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Prime Minister Modi following his election victory, reflecting the "extraordinarily close and cordial ties" between India and Bangladesh, and the excellent rapport that the two leaders enjoy, the report said.

She also spoke to PM Modi on Thursday and said this "emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy."