- Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Biden will only be the second US president to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest after Barack Obama in 2015.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi has invited US president Joe Biden to attend celebrations for India’s Republic Day on January 26 next year, American ambassador to New Delhi Eric Garcetti said on Wednesday (20).
The envoy said Modi extended the invitation on the sidelines of the bilateral talk that took place between them on the sidelines of the recently held G20 summit in the Indian capital.
Biden will be the second US president since India’s Independence to visit the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest. In 2015, former president Barack Obama had attended the celebrations that are held to mark the anniversary of the Indian Constitution’s coming into effect. Biden was the vice president of the US then.
The year 2024 will be a key year for both Modi and Biden as both the leaders will head to polls in their respective countries.
During the talks, the two sides also settled the seventh and final outstanding World Trade Organisation dispute.
The six previous issues were settled during Modi’s state visit to the US in June.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed United States President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to India today, reaffirming the close and enduring partnership between India and the United States. The leaders expressed their appreciation for the substantial progress underway to implement the ground breaking achievements of Prime Minister Modi’s historic, June 2023, visit to Washington,” the India-US joint statement read.
(With ANI inputs)
