Republic Day 2021: Indian-Origin President Of Suriname Likely To Be Chief Guest After UK PM Boris Johnson Cancels Visit To India

Earlier this week, Santokhi was the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, held by India's Ministry of External Affairs.

Chandrikapersad Santokhi, Indian-Origin President of Suriname (@presidentsuriname/Facebook)

Days after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to India, the Indian-origin President of the South American nation of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi is likely to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade on January 26. Though an official confirmation is yet to be made, News18 quoted PMO sources saying that Santokhi, who is of Indian origin, will be attending the Rajpath parade. Earlier this week, Santokhi was the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, held by India's Ministry of External Affairs. During his virtual address, the Indian-origin president had expressed readiness to take the first step to end visa permits for visitors from India to Suriname. He pitched for greater bilateral trade and cultural ties and said there is scope to expand cooperation in areas of business, trade and tourism between India and Suriname. Initially, India had invited British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the chief guest. However, Johnson cancelled his republic day visit to India in the wake of the new highly infectious strain of coronavirus spreading rapidly across the UK. According to the report, the UK Prime Minister has cited the need to oversee pandemic response as the reason to cancel the visit. A former justice minister, Chandrikapersad Santokhi had won 20 of the 51 seats in the Presidential elections and was sworn in as the President of Suriname on July 16, 2020 succeeding Desi Bouterse, a former military strongman.