New Delhi: External affairs minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump and hold meetings with officials of the incoming administration.
Jaishankar will participate in the swearing-in of Trump on January 20 at the invitation of the Trump-Vance inaugural committee, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.
The foreign minister will represent the government of India at the swearing-in of Trump as the 47th president of the United States, the ministry said in a brief statement.
During the visit, Jaishankar will have “meetings with representatives of the incoming Administration, as also some other dignitaries visiting the US on that occasion”, the statement said without giving details.
Trump’s transition team has also invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to the inauguration though several media reports have said he is not expected to attend.
A number of right-wing leaders from different countries have also been invited to the event.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Argentinian President Javier Milei and far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have also been invited. The Salvadoran ambassador to the US confirmed Bukele received an invitation but said it wasn’t clear whether he will attend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky too has received an invitation.
{{/usCountry}}Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky too has received an invitation.
{{/usCountry}}Milei confirmed in a social media post that he would attend, and Meloni told a news conference that she would be “happy to be there” if her schedule allows it.
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Thomas Balcerski, a presidential historian at Eastern Connecticut State University, told McClatchy News that the presence of even a single foreign leader would break with longstanding US tradition. “Inviting heads of state to Inauguration Day is something new under the sun,” Balcerski said.
In the past, foreign leaders have been forbidden from attending the event. In 2009, ahead of then president-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, the US state department sent a letter to embassies saying, “As in the past, foreign delegations will not be invited to Washington for this occasion.”