Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Bangladesh’s newly sworn-in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and conveyed India’s greetings following the formation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, Bangladesh’s envoy in New Delhi said.
During the courtesy meeting held soon after the swearing-in of the new administration in Dhaka, Birla invited Rahman to visit India, signalling continuity in bilateral engagement after the political transition.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah said the two leaders exchanged greetings on behalf of their governments and expressed optimism about working together for the people in both countries through a people-centric cooperation agenda.
Birla was in Dhaka to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, which marked the BNP’s return to power after the recent political transition in Bangladesh. He later shared photographs from the event and said he was pleased to attend the ceremony marking the installation of the new administration, reiterating India’s support for Bangladesh’s efforts to advance democratic, progressive and inclusive development.
The BNP, through the interim government, had also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the event. However, PM Modi was scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron for bilateral engagements.
BNP leaders said interim government Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus had invited heads of government from 13 countries to the swearing-in. The invited nations included India, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan, reflecting Dhaka’s outreach across South Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia during the transition.
According to the Electoral Commission, the BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance.
