For the first time, SAARC leaders invited to India to attend PM oath function

New Delhi, 21 May, 2014

For the first time in India, foreign leaders are invited to a Prime Minister’s swearing-in ceremony.

India has invited SAARC leaders to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Apart from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Sri Lanka President President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom have been invited for the ceremony.

“Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh has written to SAARC counterparts inviting their leaders to attend swearing-in ceremony on 26th May,” the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said in Delhi today.

While some of the leaders including Karzai, Rajapaksa and Tobgay have indicated that they may attend the ceremony, others are yet to respond.

Decision welcomed in Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti, Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Congress leader Shashit Tharoor and spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi welcomed Modi’s decision to invite Pakistan’s Prime Minister to oath ceremony.