The pious stretch that we knew as Raj Path not only witnessed its first parade as Kartvya Path but it was also the first time that a military contingent of another nation marched on the coveted path. On the 74th Republic Day, military contingent from Egypt marched towards the saluting dais on the Kartavya Path for the first time in the presence of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Egyptian military contingent led by Colonel Mahmoud Mohamed Abdel Fattah El Kharasawy consisting of 144 soldiers represented the main branches of the Egyptian armed forces. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended the parade as the chief guest. It is for the first time that an Egyptian leader has been invited on India’s Republic Day.
After attending the Republic Day parade, the Egyptian President will attend an ‘At-Home’ reception by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Later, El-Sisi will be called on by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and the two sides will hold a meeting.
The commander of the Egyptian Army contingent, Colonel Mahmoud Mohamed Abdel Fattah El Kharasawy, expressed his delight at being invited to participate in India’s 74th Republic Day parade. “We have the pleasure of participating in India. This is the first time we are visiting India. It is a great country with a civilisation as old as ours. We have been here for four days and practised with our friends in the Indian Army. Our relationship is strong and we love supporting each other,” Elkharasawy according to News agency.
Notably, a joint exercise known as Cyclone 2023 between Indian Army and Egyptian Army’s joint is being carried out in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer. The Additional Directorate General of Public Information in a tweet on 23 January said, “Exercise #Cyclone 2023 #SpecialForces troops of #IndianArmy and #EgyptArmy exercised Special Heliborne Operations during the ongoing joint exercise at #Jaisalmer.”