India looks forward to receiving French Prez Macron as chief guest at 75th Republic Day: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India looks forward to receiving French President Emmanuel Macron as the chief guest at the 75th Republic Day.

“My dear friend President @EmmanuelMacron, we eagerly look forward to receiving you as the Chief Guest at the 75th Republic Day. We will also celebrate India-France strategic partnership and shared belief in democratic values. Bientot!” PM Modi wrote on ‘X’ on Friday.

On Friday, French President Macron confirmed his visit as Chief Guest at Republic Day celebrations next year and thanked PM Modi for the invitation.

“Thank you for your invitation, my dear friend @NarendraModi. India, on your Republic Day, I’ll be here to celebrate with you!” Macron posted on X.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that he will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations on PM Modi’s invitation.

“At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations,” the MEA said in a statement.

India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues as strategic partners.

Notably, this is the sixth time a French leader will be the chief guest at Republic Day celebrations here in the national capital.

Before Macron, former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac was the chief guest on India’s Republic Day celebrations in 1976 and 1998, as were former Presidents Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Francois Hollande in the years 1980, 2008 and 2016, respectively.

This year, we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership.

Moreover, PM Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on July 14, 2023, in Paris, the MEA stated.

He had visited France at the invitation of French President Macron. Meanwhile, French President Macron also visited India in September this year to attend the G20 Summit which was held under India’s Presidency.

President Macron and Prime Minister Modi held a bilateral meeting in Delhi on September 10, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Following the meeting, PM Modi said they reaffirmed their commitment to take India-France relations to new heights of progress.

India and France cooperate closely in various sectors, including defence, space, civil nuclear, trade, investment, education, culture and people-to-people ties.