Today: 6 May 2025
13 December 2023
2 mins read

Biden Unlikely to be Republic Day Chief Guest

An Indian national, along with an alleged Indian government staffer, faces charges for conspiring to kill Pannun in June 2023…reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden is unlikely to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest next month, according to media reports.

New Delhi is also considering alternative dates for the QUAD Summit scheduled for January 2024, Hindustan Times reported, citing sources. With just over a month left for the Republic Day event, India faces the challenge of finding a replacement guest.

Biden’s visit was anticipated to be a significant event, following recent visits by top US officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin for the ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue. Additionally, US Principal Deputy NSA Jonathan Finer visited India last week, and FBI Director Christopher Wray is currently on a three-day visit to New Delhi.

The timing of Biden’s potential visit is noteworthy, coming shortly after the revelation that US law enforcement thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate Sikhs for Justice founder Pannun on US soil. An Indian national, along with an alleged Indian government staffer, faces charges for conspiring to kill Pannun in June 2023.

In May of this year, Prime Minister Modi had announced India’s hosting of the Quad leaders summit in 2024, initially expected to occur around January 27 if President Biden accepted the invitation. However, current sources indicate that the summit is likely to be rescheduled for the second half of 2024.

The Quad grouping traces its genesis to 2004 when the four countries – India, US, Australia and Japan – came together to coordinate relief operations in the aftermath of the tsunami.

In 2007, the group again met on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sidelines. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the first to pitch the idea for the formation of Quad in 2007.

The Quad summit, which was hosted by Sydney this year in May, was cancelled after US President Biden withdrew from his visit due to ongoing debt limit talks in Washington.

However, the leaders of the alliance, later agreed that they would hold their summit in Hiroshima, alongside G7 to ensure that the four leaders could come together to mark the Quad’s progress over the past year.

Biden scrapped his planned trip to Sydney as well as a historic visit to Papua New Guinea.

The decision — which prompted Albanese to cancel the scheduled Quad summit — was seen as a self-inflicted blow to hopes of a more visible US presence in the Indo-Pacific amid its competition with China in the region.

ALSO READ-Biden Risks Losing His Job Over Ukraine

Previous Story

China’s Civilisational Drive to Advance Nationalism

Next Story

FBI, CBI Chiefs Discuss Challenges Posed by Transnational Crimes

Latest from -Top News

UAE Reopens Doors to Lebanon

The prime minister expressed Lebanon’s “utmost gratitude and appreciation to the UAE” and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan….reports Asian Lite News Lebanon welcomed the decision by the United Arab Emirates

SYRIA RAIDS: Arab League Slams Israel

The Arab League condemned the airstrikes and called on the international community and the United Nations to confront what it described as “repeated violations committed by Israel against the Syrian state.” The

India Rises, Africa Watches 

While struggling economies in Africa engulf themselves in ideological battles and take sides in the tariff battles, nations like India are placing their national interest first and navigating Global Trade challenges in

WAVES 2025: Jaishankar Advocates Cultural Pluralism

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a powerful address at the WAVES 2025 Global Media Dialogue, highlighting the significance of cultural pluralism in shaping global change. Speaking on the second day of
Go toTop

Don't Miss

UK Foreign Office Faces Pressure to Act on British Sikh’s Detention in India

The lawyers’ letter stated that in the six years Johal

BJP got Rs 6,986.5 crore through poll bonds

The latest dataset released by the EC included scanned copies