REPORTS of Macron travelling to India as the chief guest of republic day come a day after Indian media reported that the country received bids from France for the purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets, and 3 more Scorpene-class conventional submarines.
India had earlier invited U.S. President Joe Biden for New Delhi’s grand ceremony.
But reports emerged earlier December that Biden will not be able to make it.
The Quad Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi in January next year has also been postponed.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited Biden to be the chief cues for republic day during their September 8 bilateral meeting, and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti confirmed that Biden had received an invitation.
The news came in the wake of accusations leveled by U.S. against India over its alleged involvement in an assassination plot foiled by the FBI, which targeted Gurpatwant Sing Pannun, a prominent Sikh Separatist in New York.
