LS Speaker Birla to represent India at Tarique Rahman's oath ceremony in Bangladesh
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Bangladesh's next prime minister, Tarique Rahman, on February 17.
It is learnt that Bangladesh had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the ceremony to be held in Dhaka.
Om Birla, the Lok Sabha Speaker, will represent the Government of India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected government of Bangladesh led by Tarique Rahman, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.
Rahman led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to a spectacular victory in Bangladesh's parliamentary polls.
"The speaker's participation at this important event underscores the deep and enduring friendship between the peoples of India and Bangladesh, reaffirming India's steadfast commitment to the democratic values that bind our two nations," the ministry said in a statement.
"As neighbours united by a shared history, culture, and mutual respect, India welcomes Bangladesh's transition to an elected government under the leadership of Tarique Rahman, whose vision and values have received an overwhelming mandate of the people," it said.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
