Abu Dhabi Crown Prince to be Chief Guest on 2017 Republic Day

The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the chief guest for the 68th Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2017.
In this regard, announcement was made the by Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesman Vikas Swarup in New Delhi after the crown prince accepted invitation.
Earlier Chief guests of Republic Day parades: 2016- Francois Hollande (French President), 2015- Barack Obama (US President), 2014- Shinzo Abe (Japanese Prime Minister), 2013- Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (King of Bhutan), 2012- Yingluck Shinawatra (Then Prime Minister of Thailand), 2011- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Then President of Indonesia).
It should be noted France holds distinction of being the guest of honour for the maximum five times of Indian Republic Day parade followed by Bhutan (four times); Mauritius and Russia (three times each).
India-UAE Relations

• India-UAE Relations deeply rooted in history and strategic cooperation which is driven by mutual aspirations of both countries.
• UAE is lynch-pin of the economic, defence and strategic strands of the India’s coordinated strategy to outreach west Asia.
• UAE is India’s third largest trading partner after China and the United States. Bilateral trade between UAE and India is around 60 billion dollars.
• Besides, there are also more than 2.6 million Indians living in the UAE and their annual remittance is estimated to be around 14 billion dollars.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016