Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is set to grace the upcoming Republic Day celebration in the national capital as the Chief Guest, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
Barring a few, such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu (74), Union Minister C R Patil (69) and Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna (71), most other ministers attending the WEF represent the next generation of India's politicians.
US President Biden was invited to the Republic Day celebrations by Prime Minister Modi during the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Garcetti said.
Bottlenecks persisted on the Iranian proposal for a gas pipeline to India through Pakistan.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its post facto approval to a memorandum of understanding between India and Iran on cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.
This is the third time that a Brazilian president was the chief guest at the Republic Day. The last time a Brazilian president was the chief guest was in 2004 when Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the parade.
India had invited United States President Joe Biden to grace the occasion but he expressed inability to travel to New Delhi in January.
"We have very little time left for deciding on the chief guest and the process will be completed soon," a source familiar with the development said.
It is said that the annual State of the Union address to both Houses of the US Congress by Trump is likely to be around the time India will celebrate its Republic Day.
India has already shortlisted the names of two-three heads of states for extending invitation to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade.
The US side is yet to respond to the invitation but initial indication has been positive, it is learnt.
