PM Modi said, "Warm welcome to India, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Your historic visit to India as Chief Guest for our Republic Day celebrations is a matter of immense happiness for all Indians. Look forward to our discussions tomorrow."
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday and was accorded a warm welcome. He will be the chief guest at the 74th Republic Day parade.
India and Egypt are "emerging as ideal strategic and economic partners" with cooperation in various sectors, including defence and industrialisation, according to an Egyptian analyst.
A military contingent of the Egyptian Army will march in India's Republic Day parade on January 26. The Egyptian military contingent will have 144 personnel participating in the parade.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has launched a seven-day 'Ops Alert' exercise along the India-Pakistan border, from Sir Creek to Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan, to thwart evil designs of anti-national elements to disrupt the upcomng Republic day celebrations on Jan
"This is for the first time that President of the Arab Republic of Egypt has been invited as Chief Guest on our Republic Day," the MEA said. A military contingent from Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade.
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on January 24 and will be greeted by Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
As India has assumed the chair of the G-20, the invitation to a leader of an important country in Africa signifies India's role as the voice of the south and an interlocutor between the global South with the North.
In an interview with ANI, she said that the current geopolitical circumstances are drastically different from what they used to be historically when the United States and Russia would be the only powers dominating the global discourse.
Ausaf Sayeed, secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said India was 'looking forward' to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's visit to India as the chief guest for the Republic Day function.
"This is going to be the first time for an Egyptian president to be received as the Chief Guest in India for the Republic Day, and I think this is a golden opportunity, a truly historic moment for both countries, even at the heyday of relations between Egypt and India in the 1960s and the 19