French President Emmanuel Macron invited as chief guest at the 2024 Republic Day celebrations
Earlier, India had invited US President Joe Biden to mark the occasion, but he expressed his inability to travel to New Delhi in January.
New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, people familiar with the development told news agency PTI on Friday. Earlier, India had invited US President Joe Biden to mark the occasion, but he expressed his inability to travel to New Delhi in January.
News agency ANI said Prime Minister Modi and Macron met earlier in July during the former’s visit to France to attend the Bastille Day Parade. PM Modi participated in the Bastille Day celebrations as a guest of honor. He had visited France at the invitation of French President Macron.
Prime Minister Modi visited France to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership. on Friday. “On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, a 241-member contingent of the Indian Armed Forces led by a military band also participated in the Parade,” the PMO said in a statement.
The Indian Army contingent was led by the Punjab Regiment, followed by a supplement from the Rajputana Rifles Regiment.
During the parade, the Indian military contingent marched to the patriotic tune ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’ while a squadron of Rafale fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) took part in a flypast over the Champs-Elysees during the Bastille Day Parade. Indian Air Force Rafale Jets from 101 Squadron from Hashimara were part of the flypast during the parade.
July 14 marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille Prison on July 14, 1789, during the French Revolution, symbolizing the democratic values of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’, the central theme of both the Indian and French Constitutions
Meanwhile, French President Macron also visited India in September this year to attend the G20 Summit held under the Indian presidency.
President Macron and Prime Minister Modi held a bilateral meeting in Delhi on September 10, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. After the meeting, Prime Minister Modi said they reaffirmed their commitment to take India-France relations to newer heights of progress.
Prime Minister Modi had posted on X: “A very productive lunch meeting with President @EmmanuelMacron. We discussed a range of issues and look forward to ensuring that India-France relations reach new heights of progress.”
The two leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthening defense cooperation through partnership in designing and expanding manufacturing in India and called for early completion of the Defense Industrial Roadmap.
Notably, this is the sixth time that a French leader will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations here in the national capital.
Before Macron, former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in 1976 and 1998, and former presidents Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande in 1980, 2008 and 2016 respectively .
India and France work closely in various sectors including defence, space, civil nuclear energy, trade, investment, education, culture and people-to-people ties. (ANI)
(With input from agencies)