For a second time, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will miss her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's swearing-in on 30 May as she will be on a three-nation foreign visit, officials here said Monday, 27 May.
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 Tuesday, it said.
She could not attend the previous swearing-in ceremony of Modi in 2014 as she was abroad then too.
Last time, Parliament Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony held on 26 May.
Prime Minister Modi will be administered the oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on 30 May, the President's Office said Sunday 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 Modi on his resounding victory.
Prime Minister Modi on Thursday, 23 May, 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 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."
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