Republic Day 2017: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to be the chief guest

This is the first time that a leader of the United Arab Emirates will be honoured with the invitation of being the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day parade.

New Delhi, October 2: In the latest bit of information from new Delhi, the government has invited the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to be the next Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day parade of 2017. This is the first time that a leader of the United Arab Emirates will be honoured with the invitation of being the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day parade. The United Arab Emirates has accepted the invitation and the country will be represented by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness  Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Republic Day parade has become a traditional affair in India ever since the 1950s, India has been hosting head of state or government of another country as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations that take place in New Delhi. The parade is an elaborate event that sees the display of India’s military strength along with a show of the traditions of various states in India. The chief guest is always a representative of a friendly country that has similar militaristic objectives as India. ironically, the first country that was called to be the chief guest was Pakistan which has a always been a non-ally of India.  (ALSO READ: Sushma Swaraj reaches out to Indian girl’s father in trouble in UAE)

The Republic day parade will be held at Rajpath in Delhi. The invitation extended to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the subsequent acceptance, is symbolic of the growing ties that India is enjoying with the United Arab Emirates. Just last year Narendra Modi became the first Prime Minister to visit the UAE after a period of 34 years. Confirming the news of the prince’s visit, MEA tweeted out, “We hope to welcome a dear friend of India, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, as Republic Day 2017 Chief Guest.”

We hope 2 welcome a dear friend of India, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, as Republic Day 2017 Chief Guest pic.twitter.com/aC5EkjFiCg

— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) October 2, 2016

The 2015 two day visit by Prime Minister NArendra Modi was historic not just because of the duration after which an Indian Prime Ministerial visit was made but also because of the level to which the bilateral co-operation was raised. When, Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi visited the United Arab Emirates from 16–17 August 2015 at the invitation of His Highness Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed AI Nahyan, in a break from protocol which would have seen only Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah receive dignitaries, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, along with his five brothers, were present at the airport to receive Narendra Modi. That in itself was a huge indication of the positive turn the ties were taking.

The visit of the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi on Republic Day 2017 will be the first visit of leadership from the UAE after Modi’s visit. Another reason that increse the significance of the ties, is the fact that UAE has traditionally been an ally of Pakistan due to their shared religious ideology. The shift of UAE towards India shows a major change in the geopolitical realities of the region.