Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in of Tarique Rahman as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Sunday (February 15, 2026). However, citing the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Mumbai that day, and the Artificial Intelligence Summit in Delhi this week, Mr. Modi declined the invitation. The invitation came a day after Mr. Modi and Mr. Rahman spoke in a telephone call after the election results, which gave the BNP a two-thirds majority in Parliament. His father, Gen Ziaur Rahman, took power in 1975 and became Bangladesh’s President, before he was assassinated in 1981. Mr. Macron will arrive in India on February 16 and hold talks with Mr. Modi on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

Source: The Hindu February 15, 2026 16:51 UTC