Indian Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday, February 17, to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet under Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they were received at the airport by Md. Nazrul Islam, Secretary (East and West) of the ministry.

The event is drawing several high-level foreign dignitaries. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay have also arrived in Dhaka to attend the ceremony. Other attendees include Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel, Sri Lanka’s Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, UK Under Secretary for India-Pacific Affairs Seema Malhotra, and Turkey’s Under Secretary Beris Ekinci.

The presence of multiple regional and international representatives underscores the diplomatic significance of the new government’s inauguration in Bangladesh.