Leaders of these neighboring countries attend PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony
BJP leader Narendra Modi will take oath as the Prime Minister of India for the third time today. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7:15 pm. India has invited the leaders of 7 countries to attend this ceremony.
The process of guests arriving for the swearing-in ceremony has started. On Sunday morning, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, who ran the India Out Campaign, reached India for the first time. Immediately after him, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth also came to Delhi.
At around 12 noon, Bhutan’s PM Dasho Tshering Tobgay and then Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe reached Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Nepal’s PM Prachanda has also arrived in India. On the other hand, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif had arrived in India a day earlier on Saturday, June 8, in the afternoon.
Invitation to leaders of neighboring countries under Neighborhood First Policy
These countries have been invited to the ceremony under India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy and ‘Sagar Vision’. Arrangements have been made for the stay of foreign guests in the biggest hotels of Delhi. These include ITC Maurya, Taj Hotel, Oberoi, Claridges and Leela Hotel. 2500 jawans of paramilitary and Delhi Armed Police (DAP) have been deployed for their security.
Drones will be used to monitor the route from the airport to the hotel and the swearing-in venue
Apart from this, snipers and police force will also be present in the area. The route of foreign leaders from the airport to the hotel and the venue will be monitored through drones. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had reached India on Saturday for this program. However, among all the foreign guests, the most attention will be on the visit of Maldives President Mohammad Muizzu.
Accepting the invitation for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, Muizzu had said, “It is an honor for me to participate in this historic event. I will continue to work with PM Modi to take forward the Maldives-India relations.”
What is ‘Neighborhood First’ Policy
‘Neighborhood First’ Policy is the core part of India’s foreign policy. Its blueprint was prepared in 2008. The aim of the Neighborhood First Policy is to strengthen physical, digital, trade relations and people-to-people ties with India’s neighboring countries.
According to the ORF report, the Neighborhood First approach aims to promote stability and development in the Indian subcontinent. According to foreign affairs experts, this policy was also launched with the aim of countering China’s growing influence in the region.
Under this policy, India provided $4 billion to Sri Lanka, which was facing economic crisis, in the year 2022. Apart from this, amid the Corona epidemic, India gave vaccines worth Rs 188 crore to Bangladesh and Rs 79 crore to Nepal.
