President Obama becomes first US head of State to attend India’s Republic day

American President Barack Obama attended the Indian Republic Day Parade today in Rajpath, New Delhi and became the first US president to do so. Obama is on a three-day visit to India, first time since the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, to strengthen ties between the two countries.

President Obama and the first lady during the American national anthem

Obama was the chief guest at the Parade ceremony which happens every year on January 26th which showcases India's military/defense capability, cultural and social heritage; a sign of projection of power as an emerging economy. The India-US relations have been fairly cold during the past few decades which is evident from the fact that it took about seven decades for India to invite any US leader to its prestigious Parade Day ceremonies.  However, this also reflects a growing sense of affection and trust between the two countries especially in defense since just recently India choose the American company, Sikorsky, for a $1 Billion Dollar Military Helicopter Deal.

US SH 60 Seahawk helicopter near Baghdad in year 2003. India intends to buy at least 16 S-70B Seahawks from Sikorsky Aircraft, India’s defense ministry was quoted as saying

Yesterday, both the countries announced a breakthrough in nuclear cooperation pact according to which US companies will be permitted to sell civilian nuclear technology to India. Modi hailed this pact as a "new journey" for the two nations.

Posted by CG on Monday January 26 2015, 1:04 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0