Republic Day 2023: Chief Guest Egyptian President to arrive in Delhi today
2 min read . Updated: 24 Jan 2023, 02:59 PM IST
Premium- El-Sisi is scheduled to meet President of India Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar
President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who is the Chief Guest for the 74th Republic Day parade will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday. He is expected to reach around 6:00 PM and will be accompanied by a high-level delegation. The delegation which includes senior ministers and officials of the Egyptian government is officially visiting India from 24 January to 27 January.
On Wednesday, El-Sisi will be accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
With an intention to explore the countries of the Global South, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Government has decided to invite the President of Egypt as the Chief Guest of the Republic Day parade for the first time.
El-Sisi is scheduled to meet President of India Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar. With PM Modi, the President of Egypt will discuss the bilateral relations. The two leaders are expected to share their views on regional and global issues.
As per the media release by the Ministry of External Affairs, El-Sisi will meet with Union Minister S Jaishankar at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
During his visit, the Egyptian President will also visit Rajghat, to lay a wreath at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.
For the visiting dignitaries, President Droupadi Murmu will also host a state banquet, where the foreign delegation will meet the other senior leaders of the Union Government.
On this Republic Day, a contingent of the Egyptian Army will march on the Rajpath with their Indian counterparts. The President of Egypt will be the Chief Guest of the event, after which he will attend an "at home" reception by President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
El-Sisi will meet Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankar and will also interact with the business community of India.
"This is for the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt has been invited as Chief Guest on our Republic Day. A military contingent from Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade," the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement on Monday.
"The forthcoming visit of President Sisi is expected to further strengthen and deepen the time-tested partnership between India and Egypt," the statement added.
In the fiscal year 2021-22, the bilateral trade between India and Egypt reached $7.26 billion, with almost equal imports and exports. Indian exports to the country were $3.74 billion, while the imports were $3.52. Both countries are looking at increasing their engagement and strengthening their economic cooperation.
(With Inputs from ANI)