Speaker to meet Modi on May 27

In the first high-level interaction between Bangladesh and India following a change of government in New Delhi, Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will have a one-to-one meeting with Narendra Modi on May 27, a day after he is sworn in as prime minister.      
The meeting will take place at the palatial Hyderabad House in the heart of Delhi and is expected to last for about half an hour, officials said here yesterday.
There is no official word from Pakistan as yet if its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will attend the swearing in of Modi. A decision is likely today.
Shirin, who arrives here on May 25, will be among an array of top SAARC leaders who will be hosted to a banquet by Modi also at the Hyderabad House soon after his taking the oath at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan here on May 26 at 6:00pm.
Shirin is representing Bangladesh as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is away in Japan on a bilateral visit.
Hasina was among the first foreign leaders to felicitate Modi on his remarkable parliamentary election victory and wrote a warm letter to Modi, pledging to work with his government to further strengthen bilateral ties and maintain the momentum in ties.  
Other SAARC leaders who have confirmed their participation at the oath-taking of Modi are Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam is also coming to attend the swearing in of Modi.
Replying to a question if the opposition leaders from SAARC countries were also invited, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the invitations to the swearing in of Modi were sent only to heads of state and government, and it is for the latter to bring anyone they would like to.
Leading daily Indian Express yesterday carried a report, saying invites could be sent to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Sri Lankan opposition leader Ranil Wickramasinghe to Modi's swearing in.
Modi is the third Indian PM to be sworn in at the forecourt of Rahstrapati Bhavan after Chandrashekhar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.