Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: When he became Prime Minister five years ago, Narendra Modi invited SAARC leaders for his swearing-in. As he re-enters office Thursday, the ceremony will be attended by leaders from the BIMSTEC countries, Kyrgyz Republic, and Mauritius.
The invite to leaders from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan — countries in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation — is part of Modi’s “Neighbourhood First” focus. The Kyrgyz Republic is currently Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO); the Prime Minister of Mauritius was the Chief Guest at this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
After the 2014 outreach to SAARC countries failed to take off due to tensions with Pakistan; this is the PM’s fresh effort to reach out diplomatically to the neighbourhood, the diaspora, and the China-Russia-led regional grouping of Central Asian countries.
