Health Minister to attend oath-taking ceremony of new Bangladesh Govt

Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa is set to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Tarique Rahman as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the newly elected government, scheduled to be held on Tuesday (17).

The information was confirmed to Bangladesh media by Dharmapala Weerakkody, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh.

The visit is seen as part of ongoing diplomatic engagement between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, reflecting the cordial relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, India’s Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri are expected to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bangladesh government on Tuesday.

The Indian delegation is expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony as part of diplomatic engagements surrounding the formation of the new government in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin is set to administer the oath of office to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led cabinet-elect at the National Parliament’s South Plaza in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall has been traditionally used for the government oath-taking ceremony, but this time, the Parliament will serve as the host, according to Bangladesh media.

The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured a landslide majority in parliament, 18 months after mass protests ousted the country’s longest-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The party took more than two-thirds of seats in the historic general election, with Jamaat, the country’s main Islamist party, coming second. Hasina’s Awami League was banned from taking part.

BNP leader Tarique Rahman is set to be the next prime minister and faces huge challenges in getting the economy back on its feet and restoring democracy after 15 years of authoritarian rule under Hasina.

Voters also backed sweeping democratic reforms in a referendum held alongside the election.