The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to be attended by the BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) leaders on May 30.
The government of India had sent invitations to the BIMSTEC leaders along with the Presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius. The BIMSTEC is a regional organisation comprising of seven member countries namely India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The organisation which came into existence on June 6, 1997, under Bangkok Declaration, was originally named as BIST-EC and was renamed as BIMST-EC after inclusion of Myanmar in December 1997. This was followed by Nepal becoming an observer in 1988 and later in 2004 Nepal along with Bhutan became a full member of the organisation.
Here is a look at the leaders of the BIMSTEC countries who have bee invited for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi.
Sheikh Hasina Wazed –
Sheikh Hasina Wazed is the longest serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh holding the office of Prime Minister since 2009. Her political party is the Bangladesh Awami League. Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was the first President of Bangladesh. She was ranked 26th among the most powerful women in the world in the Forbes’ List of 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 2018. She was provided asylum by India when she moved to Delhi from West Germany after her father was assassinated in Bangladesh in 1975. However, she will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony due to her three-nation foreign visit. She was not able to attend the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi after 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Liberation War Affairs Minister of Bangladesh AKM Muzammel Huq will be attending the swearing-in ceremony.
Lotay Tshering –
Lotay Tshering, the third democratically elected Prime Minister of Bhutan, is a member of the Druk NyamrupTshogpa party. He has been holding the office of Prime Minister in November 2018. Born into a humble family, Tshering was the only trained Urologist in his country when he returned to his country after completing his degree in Urology from Medical College of Wisconsin, USA. He had joined politics in 2013 after resigning as Urologist from the National Referal Hospital in Bhutan.
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli –
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli is the current Prime Minister of Nepal and also the Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). He is the 38th Prime Minister of Nepal. He assumed his office in February 2018. Oli has previously served as the Prime Minister of Nepal between October 2015 and August 2016.
Ranil Wickremesinghe –
Ranil Wickremesinghe is the serving Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the leader of United National Party. He has previously held the office of Prime Minister from 1993 to 1994 and 2001 to 2004. Wickremesinghe completed his law degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Columbia and took oath as an advocate in 1972. He was appointed as the Prime Minister by the Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena after the 2015 election.
Prayut Chan-o-cha –
Prayut Chan-o-cha is the Prime Minister of Thailand and the head of National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO). He assumed the office of Prime Minister in August 2014. He contested for the post of Prime Minister in 2019 Thai elections. He also served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army between October 2010 and October 2014. In 2014, Prayut staged a military coup against the government and took over the control of the country as the leader of the NCPO.
Aung San Suu Kyi –
Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the office of State Counsellor of Myanmar, a position similar to Prime Minister, in 2016 and currently holds the post. She is a politician, diplomat, and author. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She did her graduation from the University of Delhi in 1964 and also worked at the United Nations for three years. She was put under house arrest in 1989 after the military refused to hand over the power despite her party National League for Democracy winning 81% of the seats in the election. She remained under house arrest till 2010.
