On the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Brasilia, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations next year. The Indian Express had first reported that the government was working on a proposal to invite Bolsonaro as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. During his meeting with Bolsonaro on Wednesday, PM Modi extended the invite to him. The Brazilian President has accepted the invitation with pleasure, according to an official statement. The two leaders held “fruitful talks” to strengthen the bilateral ties. The Brazilian President expressed his readiness and informed Prime Minister Modi that a large business delegation will accompany him to India. Bolsonaro will be the third Brazilian President to grace the occassion as the chief guest, after Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1996 and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2004. “Both leaders agreed that on this occasion, the two countries can comprehensively enhance our strategic partnership,” an official statement from the MEA read. New Delhi has been weaving strategy with hospitality to decide its chief guests for the Republic Day. The choice of chief guest every year is dictated by a number of reasons — strategic and diplomatic, business interests and geopolitics.
