New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, according to those acquainted with the situation who stated on Friday.
US President Joe Biden was invited to attend the event by India, but he stated that he would be unable to visit New Delhi in January.
French President Macron has been invited as the Republic Day chief guest, the people cited above said.
Notably, this will be a French leader's sixth appearance as the chief guest at Republic Day celebrations held in the nation's capital.
Prior to Macron, former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac attended India's Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest in 1976 and 1998. Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Francois Hollande attended as the chief guests in 1980, 2008, and 2016, respectively.
With inputs from agencies