Egyptian President Set To Be Republic Day Chief Guest
NDTV
According to sources, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is set to arrive in New Delhi on January 24th and will be greeted by Minister of State for External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is set to be the chief guest at India's 74th Republic Day celebrations next week, the government said on Friday. This will mark the first time an Egyptian president has been invited to serve as chief guest at the event, and will make him only the sixth leader from the West Asian and Arab world to do so.
According to sources, President el-Sisi is set to arrive in New Delhi on January 24th and will be greeted by Minister of State for External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. The following day, he will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as meet with Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and attend a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. On January 26th, he will serve as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.
In addition to President el-Sisi's visit, a 180-member strong contingent from Egypt will participate in the parade and a series of agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries, sources said. Additionally, a commemorative stamp marking 75 years of diplomatic ties between India and Egypt will be released.
The visit is also expected to address economic ties between the countries, particularly wheat supplies. Last year, India made an exception for Egypt and allowed the export of 61,000 tonnes of wheat in three tranches, despite an embargo. Egypt has since lifted a ban on Indian wheat and requested further supplies, though traditionally it imports wheat from Ukraine and Russia.