Namal Rajapaksa in Maldives to attend Solih’s inauguration

Namal Rajapaksa, the son of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is in Maldives to attend the inauguration of Maldivian President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (Ibu).

Namal Rajapaksa is the eldest of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s three sons and a former parliamentarian.

He arrived in Maldives last Friday.

Other high-level delegates from Sri Lanka in Maldives to attend Solih’s inauguration this Saturday evening include former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Dr. Sarath Amunugama.

Over 300 high-level delegates from 46 countries are expected to attend the inauguration, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Other high-level dignitaries scheduled to attend the inauguration are:

• Mohamed Afif, Secretary of State Cabinet Affairs of Seychelles
• His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia
• His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Son of the Crown Prince of the UAE
• Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan
• Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
• Faiszer Mustapha, Minister of Provincial Councils, Local Government and Sports of Sri Lanka
• Dr. Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine
• Luo Shugang, Minister of Culture and Tourism as Special Envoy of the President of China
• Wataru Takeshita, Member of House of Representatives of Japan as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan
• Mounia Boucetta, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as Special Envoy of the King of Morocco
• Yavuz Selim Kiran, Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey, as Special Envoy of the President of Turkey
• Ambassador Zoran Vujic, Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Special Envoy of the President of Serbia
• Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary-General of the European Union External Action Service
• Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
• Amjad Hussain B. Sial, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

Three former Maldivian presidents have confirmed they will attend Solih’s inauguration; Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and Mohamed Nasheed.

The Spokesperson at President’s Office, Ibrahim Muaz Ali has announced President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom will not attend the inauguration.