Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been picked as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January next year, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday.
“This is the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt will be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day,” the MEA said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a formal invitation to al-Sisi which was reportedly handed over to the Egyptian president by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on October 16.
Incidentally, both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
According to the MEA Statement, Egypt has been invited as a ‘Guest Country’ during India’s Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.
“India and Egypt enjoy warm and friendly relations based on civilisational and deep-rooted people-to-people ties,” the statement read.
Over the years, several world leaders of friendly nations have graced the Republic Day celebrations since 1950, when the then Indonesian President Sukarno was invited as the chief guest for the grand event.
In 1952, 1953 and 1966, the Republic Day celebrations were held without a foreign leader as chief guest.
More recently, in 2021, the then British prime minister Boris Johnson was invited as the chief guest but the rising Covid cases in Britain forced him to cancel his visit to India.
This year, India had invited leaders of the five Central Asian Republics, who were to visit Delhi for the India-Central Asia Summit, as chief guests for the Republic Day celebrations.
However, their visits too was cancelled due to rising Covid cases in India. The India-Central Asia Summit was held in the virtual format.
Back in 2020, the then Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest.
In 2018, the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leadership comprising 10 heads of state was present at the Republic Day parade.
Former US President Barack Obama was the chief guest in 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007, former French presidents Nicholas Sarkozy in 2008 and Francois Hollande in 2016 have all been chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations in the past.
(With inputs from PTI)
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