India and France are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit India on January 26 for the Republic Day celebrations, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday.
 
“At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations,” the MEA said.
 
“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. Prime Minister Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on 14 July 2023 in Paris. President Macron visited India for the G-20 Summit on 9-10 September 2023,” the MEA added.
 
This will be the sixth time that a French President will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. Former French President Jacques Chirac became Chief Guest at the Republic Day function twice, in 1976 and 1998. Former présidents Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, attended the celebrations in 1980, 2008, and 2016, respectively.
 
Macron in a post on X, thanked Prime Minister Modi for the invite. “Thank you for your invitation, my dear friend @NarendraModi. India, on your Republic Day, I’ ll be here to celebrate with you!”
 
In September, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti announced that President Joe Biden was invited to be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day celebrations. But US President Biden reportedly declined the invitation and the Quad Summit which was to be held around Republic Day was also postponed.