An invitation has been extended to French President Emmanuel Macron to serve as the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations in 2024. This marks the sixth instance of a French leader being invited to the momentous event at Kartavya Path on January 26, commemorating the day in 1950 when the Constitution of India came into effect, signifying the nation's transition to a republic. India's gesture reflects the strengthened closeness and trust that has developed between the two countries over time.
India's Republic Day celebrations serve as a stage to highlight diplomatic ties and showcase the strength of the armed forces. Just as witnessed in the recent Republic Day parade, a noteworthy feature of the event is expected to be an Air Show featuring Rafale Jets, underscoring the substantial defence cooperation between India and France.
Important to recall that India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in Paris earlier this year.
Rafale Jets of the Indian Air Force, from the 101 Squadron from Hashimara, formed a part of the flypast during the parade on July 14 in Paris. A 269-member tri-services contingent of the Indian Armed Forces also marched to the tune of "Sare Jahan Se Accha'' at the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
France holds a unique distinction as the only country to have received the highest number of invitations to India's Republic Day parade. In 1976, French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac became the first-ever French leader to be invited as the chief guest for India's Republic Day celebration.
Subsequent invitations were extended to French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1980, President Jacques Chirac in 1998, President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008, and President François Hollande in 2016.
Previously, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti informed the media that India had extended an invitation to US President Joe Biden to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebration, but the visit did not materialise.
The American side has not provided a specific reason for President Biden's inability to accept the invitation, with potential explanations including a scheduled State of the Union address and domestic commitments that rendered him unavailable for the grand event in New Delhi.
As a consequence of the US President's inability to travel to Delhi, the planned Quad summit in the Indian capital had to be postponed.
2023 also marks 25 years of the India-France strategic partnership. After PM Modi's visit to the country earlier this year, a roadmap for the next 25 years was released which focused on a number of initiatives including both sides agreeing to explore projects to develop the Indian submarine fleet, French support to build "Shakti Engine", working together in the Indo Pacific, etc.
France has been consistently supporting India's bid to be a member of a reformed United Nations Security Council and backed the listing of Pakistani terrorists at the UN.
Since PM Modi took charge in 2014, India has invited US President Barack Obama in 2015, French President François Hollande in 2016, Crown Prince of UAE Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 201, all the ASEAN countries in 2018, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro in 2020, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2023
