French President Macron will be R-Day chief guest

New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 that would make him the sixth French leader to grace the prestigious annual event. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Macron will be visiting India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India had invited US President Joe Biden to be the Republic Day chief guest but he expressed his inability to travel to India in January. The reasons for Biden's decision are believed to be the State of the Union address in late January or early February, Biden's focus on his re-election bid and Washington's increasing focus on the Hamas-Israel conflict.

"At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations," the MEA said in a statement. "As strategic partners, India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues. This year, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership," it said. In a post on X, Macron said: "Thank you for your invitation, my dear friend @NarendraModi. India, on your Republic Day, I'll be here to celebrate with you!" Prime Minister Modi was the guest of honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on July 14 in Paris. Macron visited India for the G20 Summit in September. New Delhi's invitation to Macron for the Republic Day celebrations comes amid rapid upswing in ties between the two countries including in areas of defence and security, clean energy, trade and investment and new technologies.