French President Emmanuel Macron is set to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations on 26 January after US President Joe Biden expressed his "inability" to visit New Delhi next month.
“At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations", India's Ministry of External Affairs (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 added.
Earlier, Modi, during his bilateral meeting with the US president on 8 September on the sidelines of the G20 summit, invited him to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
However, Joe Biden declined, which the media termed as a snub by Biden to India following the controversy over a so-called plot to kill Khalistani designated terrorist R Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
As a result, French President Emmanuel Macron has been invited to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade in 2024.
He will be the sixth French head of state to grace the occasion, it added.