US President Joe Biden has been invited to be the Chief Guest for the January 26 Republic Day celebrations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Wednesday.
News agency ANI quoted Garcetti as saying that Biden got the invitation during his bilateral meeting with PM Modi on September 8 on the sidelines of the G20 summit held in Delhi. The US envoy was asked at an event about the reports that India is mulling to invite leaders of the Quad countries to grace the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 next year.
Biden, 80, made his maiden trip to India earlier this month after taking over as the US President.
Asked whether the Quad summit is being planned in India around the time of the Republic Day celebrations, Garcetti did not confirm it.
If Biden accepts India’s Republic Day invitation, he will be the second US president to be the chief guest at the event after Barack Obama, who graced the occasion in 2015.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day celebrations.
Every year, India invites world leaders to attend its Republic Day celebrations. There was no Republic Day Chief guest in 2021 and 2022 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the then Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
In 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, while in 2018, leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries attended the celebrations.
In 2017, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the chief guest at celebrations, while the then French President Francois Hollande graced the occasion in 2016.
In 2014, the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the chief guest at the celebrations, while Bhutan king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck attended the parade in 2013.
The heads of state and government who have attended the Republic Day celebrations include Nicolas Sarkozy, Vladimir Putin, Nelson Mandela, John Major, Mohammed Khatami and Jacques Chirac.
The then British Prime Minister John Major had attended the celebrations in 1993, Nelson Mandela participated as then South African President in 1995 while South Korean President President Lee Myung Bak witnessed the parade in 2010.
(with inputs from PTI)
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