New Delhi: President of Egypt, Abdeh Fattah Al Sisi will be the chief guest on Republic Day, 2023, said Ministry of External Affairs."At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, H.E. Mr Abdeh Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, will be the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2023. This is the first time that President of the Arab Republic of Egypt will be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day," read the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.
"India and Egypt enjoy warm and friendly relations based on civilizational and deep-rooted people-to-people ties. Both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Egypt has been invited as a "Guest Country" during India's Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23," it added.
The Republic Day celebrations in 1952, 1953, and 1966 were held with a foreign leader as chief guest.
In 2021, the then British prime minister Boris Johnson was invited as the chief guest but his visit had to be cancelled due to the rising Covid-19 cases in Britain.
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.
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However, the visit was cancelled due to rising COVID-19 cases in India. The India-Central Asia Summit was held in the virtual format.
In 2018, the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leadership comprising 10 heads of state was present at the Republic Day parade. In 2020, the then Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest.
Former US President Barack Obama (2015), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2007), former French presidents Nicholas Sarkozy (2008) and Francois Hollande (2016) have also been chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations in the past