President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will be chief guests during the official Republic Day 2026 parade at Kartavya Path on Monday.
Ursula von der Leyen arrived in New Delhi on her State Visit to India on 24 January afternoon. She was received by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.
António Costa will arrive in New Delhi on 25 January. The two are scheduled to be India till 27 January.
Apart from the Republic Day event, the two presidents will represent the EU in the 16th EU-India Summit, scheduled to take place on 27 January.
The two Presidents will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for a summit aimed at building on the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthening collaboration across key policy areas, according to a press statement from European Council.
“Trade, security and defence, the clean transition and people to people cooperation will top the agenda of the discussions,” the statement said.
Before the two Republic Day chief guests, Kaja Kallas, the EU Vice-President, landed in the national capital on Saturday on her first official visit to India.
Welcoming her, in a post on X, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that her visit builds on the momentum of regular high-level engagements and comes at an opportune moment to strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership further.
"A warm welcome to EU HRVP @kajakallas on her first official visit to India as the EU High Representative/Vice-President. The visit comes at an opportune moment to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership, building on the momentum of regular high-level engagements", he wrote on X.
At the Republic Day parade, an officer of the colonel rank will lead a small EU contingent mounted on a vehicle and following him will be four flag-bearers, riding two different vehicles, Major General Dhillon said.
The Republic Day Parade will begin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying homage to bravehearts at the National War Memorial.
Who is António Costa?
António Costa has been in office as the European Council President since December 1, 2024. A native of Portugal, Costa was born on July 17, 1961. His great-grandfather hails from the Indian state of Goa.
Who is Ursula von der Leyen?
Ursula has been holding the position of President of the European Commission since 2019. Born on October 8, 1958, in Brussels to a Turkish-German family of mixed heritage, Ursula von der Leyen is a medical doctor by profession. She has been family affairs labour minister as well as the defence minister between 2013 and 2019 in Germany.
Itinerary of President António Costa
-25 January 2026: New Delhi: India official visit begins
-26 January 2026: New Delhi, Presidents Costa and von der Leyen attend India’s Republic Day Parade celebrations.
-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
-24 January, 2026: Arrival in New Delhi
-25 January, 2026: President von der Leyen in India. Together with President of the European Council, meets S Jaishankar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of India
-26 January, 2026: President von der Leyen in India: together with President of the European Council António Costa, participates in India’s 77th Republic Day Parade celebrations; meets Droupadi Murmu, President of India.
-27 January, 2026: President von der Leyen meets PM Narendra Modi, participates in the EU-India Business Forum. participates in a banquet hosted by President Murmu; meets CP Radhakrishnan, Vice President of India.
-27 January, 2026: President von der Leyen in India and President of the European Council António Costa, participates in the 16th EU-India Summit.
