US President Donald Trump, whom India had invited to be the chief guest of its Republic Day in January 2019, may not be able attend, according to a report by Mint.
The report suggests that Trump could deny India’s invitation because of a packed domestic calendar.
Trump will be occupied with the midterm elections in November and is expected to deliver the State of the Union address between January 21 and January 29.
The report cites officials as saying that Trump’s presidential visit to India in January for the Republic Day parade seems to be far-fetched as of now.
India had invited President Trump to India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2017. This invitation was later converted into an invite for the 2019 Republic Day parade.
If Trump attends the parade, he would become the second US president to be the chief guest of the annual parade that happens in New Delhi’s Rajpath.
In 2015, Barack Obama became the first US President to attend the parade that aims at displaying India’s cultural diversity and military advancement.
Generally, chief guests of the parade are heads of states of countries that are strategically important to India, or heads of neighbouring countries.
The 2018 Republic Day parade was attended by heads of the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
In September, a top Trump Administration official had said that Trump looks forward to visiting India to reflect on the "amazingly positive" trajectory in the India-US relationship.
The official, however, did not offer further details as to when the president's trip to India will take place.
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