- Nawaz all set to leave for India on Monday to attend Modi’s oath-taking, have separate meetings with Indian president and PM as Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi accompany him
After a 14-member Pakistani delegation arrived in India on Sunday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is all set to leave for New Delhi on Monday morning to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister-designate Nardenra Modi.
The members of the advance delegation from PM Nawaz Sharif’s office crossed over through Wagah yesterday and were taken to Rajasansi Airport from where they took a flight to Delhi.
Indian politicians have hailed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to attend PM-designate Narendra Modi’s swearing-in on Monday (today) where Indian authorities have finalised preparations for his five-star welcome.
The ball will be set rolling with a warm reception for world leaders on arrival at the ceremonial lounge of the Indira Gandhi international airport in New Delhi. Bookings have been made at all major five-star hotels in central Delhi for the VVIP guests. Nawaz will be staying at the Taj Mansingh.
Indian President Pranab Mukerjee will also host a dinner for Nawaz.
Nawaz and Modi will have a 30-minute meeting on Tuesday. They are expected to discuss bilateral relations, including resumption of the composite dialogue. The PM will have a separate meeting with the Indian president. Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi will accompany the PM.
Both the Bangladesh speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury — who is arriving at 12:20pm on Sunday and is the first guest to arrive for the ceremony — as well as the Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Kumar Koirala will stay at the ITC Maurya on Sardar Patel Marg.
The adjacent Taj Palace hotel will play host to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Maldives counterpart Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam will reside at the Oberoi hotel.
Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, who arrived at 1pm on Sunday, is staying at Leela Palace.
Apart from ensuring that hospitality remains top-notch, the external affairs ministry has also brought back former chief of protocol Ruchira Kamboj for the duration of the ceremony. The security factors and the preference of the guests will be taken into account while deciding on where they will be put up, officials said.
All the leaders will be spending a majority of their time at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, and arrangements have been accordingly made.
“…When heads of states or government get talking, planned schedules can go awry,” said an official.
Protocol demands that presidents are given preference over prime ministers. Since presidents of three countries, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan, are attending the ceremony, the pecking order could be decided in alphabetical order. However, though there will be flexibility at the bilateral meeting, depending on the departure time of the guests.
INDIA WELCOMES:
Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader KC Tyagi lauded Nawaz Sharif’s decision and said, “We welcome Nawaz Sharif’s visit to India. We also welcome Modi’s changed policies,” Indian media reported.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Prakash Javadekar also welcomed the news and said it will mark a new beginning in the relations between India and Pakistan.
“It is very good news that Nawaz Sharif has accepted Modi’s invitation. This will mark a start of a new relationship between India and Pakistan,” said Javadekar.
Congress Party leader Rashid Alvi said, “It is good news that he is visiting India. It is an opportunity to hold meeting with him and important issues should be raised.”
Nawaz Sharif has accepted India’s invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Modi on Monday evening (May 26).
India has invited leaders of all South Asian countries, including Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to Modi’s oath-taking ceremony scheduled on May, 26.
The swearing-in ceremony, to be held at the forecourt of the historic Rashtrapati Bhavan, is likely to be attended by as many as 3,000 guests, the report added.