PM Modi's swearing-in: Donald, Imran, Xi may be invited

New Delhi: A galaxy of top world leaders could be invited to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony for his second tenure in power including leaders of the P-5 countries (US, Russia, UK, France and China), Japan, Germany, Israel, prominent Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE as well as several SAARC countries in India's neighbourhood.  While speculation is rife in this regard, government sources however said any invites would only be issued after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) takes a decision in this regard. It also remains to be seen whether Pakistan PM Imran Khan is invited. Government Sources said it was still too "premature" to talk about any invitations to foreign leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony that could take place in the next few days. However, the Government is expected to take a decision on this soon.

Speculation is rife that US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President  Xi Jinping could be among the leaders invited.

Attendance of some of the world's top leaders is bound to further boost PM Modi's image as a strong leader under whose leadership India is realising its potential in the world. This will also come at a time when India is pushing for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

It may be recalled that during his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, Mr. Modi had invited leaders of all Saarc nations including then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. It is also almost certain that India under PM Modi in his second tenure and Pakistan under its PM Imran Khan could inch forward towards a peace process despite the current severely strained ties between the two neighbours. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had on Wednesday exchanged pleasantries with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting of foreign ministers at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj also congratulated PM Modi for leading the BJP to such a electoral historic win.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading.