Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam arrived here today with a delegation to attend prime minister-designate Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
All arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony of 63-year-old Modi , who led the BJP to an astounding victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, have been made. It is expected that nearly 3,000 guests, including the heads of government of seven nations from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) grouping, will attend the landmark event.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his Nepal counterpart Sushil Koirala, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Bangladesh Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will attend the ceremony.
This is the first time that SAARC heads of government have been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of an Indian prime minister.
President Pranab Mukherjee will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and his Council of Ministers in the presence of a host of leaders, including outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi, besides leaders of various other parties and chief ministers of a number of states.