Egypt’s President invited as chief guest for Republic Day 2023

Republic Day 2023: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been invited to be the primary guest for India’s Republic Day in 2023, indicating New Delhi’s continued focus on the Arab world as it prepares for a year of high-profile diplomatic engagements. The formal invitation was handed over when external affairs minister S Jaishankar met Sisi in Cairo on October 16 during an official visit to Egypt, the people said. Egypt is among the nine guest countries invited to the G20 Summit under India’s presidency in 2023.

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An invitation as chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 is a signal honour reserved for the country’s close allies and partners. There were no chief guests at the celebrations in 2021 and 2022, largely because of disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the last chief guest to participate the 2020 celebrations.

Republic Day 2023: Key point

The 68-year-old general-turned-politician will be the first Egyptian leader to be invited by India for Republic Day celebrations, despite the fact that the two nations have had strong ties for decades, particularly as founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. Egypt faced serious domestic political issues such as the Arab Spring protests and a severe economic crisis at a time when India’s focus moved towards the Gulf countries because of interests such as energy, trade, investments and the presence of millions of expatriates.