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As India prepares to celebrate its Republic Day, two prominent EU leaders, António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, will attend the event, emphasizing the importance of trade, security, and cooperation between India and the EU.
President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will be chief guests during the official Republic Day 2026 parade at Kartavya Path on Monday.
MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that the two chief guests will arrive in New Delhi soon. The two are scheduled to be India between 25 and 27 January.
Apart from the Republic Day event, they will represent the EU in the 16th EU-India Summit, scheduled to take place on 27 January.
The two Presidents will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for a summit aimed at building on the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthening collaboration across key policy areas, according to a press statement from European Council.
“Trade, security and defence, the clean transition and people to people cooperation will top the agenda of the discussions,” the statement said.
Before the two Republic Day chief guests, Kaja Kallas, the EU Vice-President, landed in the national capital on Saturday on her first official visit to India.
Welcoming her, in a post on X, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that her visit builds on the momentum of regular high-level engagements and comes at an opportune moment to strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership further.
"A warm welcome to EU HRVP @kajakallas on her first official visit to India as the EU High Representative/Vice-President. The visit comes at an opportune moment to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership, building on the momentum of regular high-level engagements", he wrote on X.
At the Republic Day parade, an officer of the colonel rank will lead a small EU contingent mounted on a vehicle and following him will be four flag-bearers, riding two different vehicles, Major General Dhillon said.
The Republic Day Parade will begin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying homage to bravehearts at the National War Memorial.
Who is António Costa?
António Costa has been in office as the European Council President since December 1, 2024. A native of Portugal, Costa was born on July 17, 1961. His great-grandfather hails from the Indian state of Goa.
Who is Ursula von der Leyen?
Ursula has been holding the position of President of the European Commission since 2019. Born on October 8, 1958, in Brussels to a Turkish-German family of mixed heritage, Ursula von der Leyen is a medical doctor by profession. She has been family affairs labour minister as well as the defence minister between 2013 and 2019 in Germany.
(With agency inputs)
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