The President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be the main guests of the official Republic Day 2026 parade on the Kartavya trail on Monday.
In a post on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two chief guests will arrive in New Delhi soon. Both should be India between January 25 and 27.
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Apart from the Republic Day event, they will represent the EU at the 16th EU-India Summit scheduled to be held on January 27.
According to a European Council press release, the two presidents will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for a summit aimed at building the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthening cooperation in key policy areas.
“Trade, security and defence, clean transition and people-to-people cooperation will be the main points on the discussion agenda,” the statement said.
EU Vice President Kaja Kallas landed in the country’s capital on her first official visit to India ahead of the two Republic Day chief guests.
Welcoming her in a post on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said her visit builds on the momentum of regular high-level talks and comes at an opportune time to further strengthen the India-EU strategic partnership.
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“We warmly welcome EU High Representative @kajakallas on her first official visit to India as EU High Representative/Vice-President. The visit comes at an opportune time to further strengthen India-EU strategic partnership based on the momentum of regular high-level engagements,” he wrote on X.
For the Republic Day parade, a colonel-ranked officer will lead a small EU contingent mounted on a vehicle, followed by four flag bearers on two different vehicles, Major General Dhillon said.
The Republic Day parade will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will pay tribute to the brave hearts at the National War Memorial.
Who is António Costa?
António Costa is the President of the European Council from 1 December 2024. A native of Portugal, Costa was born on 17 July 1961. His great-grandfather is from the Indian state of Goa.
Who is Ursula von der Leyen?
Ursula has held the position of President of the European Commission since 2019. Ursula von der Leyen was born on October 8, 1958 in Brussels to a Turkish-German family of mixed origin and is a doctor by profession. Between 2013 and 2019, she was Minister of Labor for the Family and Minister of Defense in Germany.
Itinerary of President António Costa
-25. January 2026: New Delhi: Official visit to India begins
-26. January 2026: New Delhi, Presidents Costa and von der Leyen participate in India’s Republic Day celebrations.
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-27. January 2026 New Delhi, India EU-India Summit
-13:15 (local time) Press statements by Prime Minister Modi, President Costa and President von der Leyen
-18:05 (local time) Meeting with President Droupadi Murmu
Itinerary of President von der Leyen in India
-25. January 2026: President von der Leyen in India. S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India meets with the President of the European Council
-26. January 2026: President Von der Leyen in India: Together with European Council António Costa, he participates in the 77th Republic Day celebrations in India; Mes Droupadi Murmu, President of India.
-27. January 2026: President von der Leyen meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, participates in the EU-India Business Forum. attends a banquet hosted by President Murmu; meets CP Radhakrishnan, Vice President of India.
-27. January 2026: President von der Leyen in India and European Council President António Costa attend the 16th EU-India Summit.
