EU leaders to be chief guests at 77th Republic Day, to meet PM Modi

European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be the chief guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations. The announcement was made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday (January 15). The MEA further stated they will be on a three-day State Visit to India from January 25 to 27.

“At the invitation of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the President of the European Council, H.E. Mr. António Luís Santos da Costa and the President of the European Commission, H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen will be on a State Visit to India from 25-27 January 2026 as Chief Guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations. During the visit, the leaders will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on 27 January 2026,” stated the MEA.

EU leaders to meet President Murmu

The EU leaders will also meet President Draupadi Murmu during the visit and hold restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The MEA further stated that an India-EU Business Forum might also be held on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit.

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“During the visit, President Costa and President von der Leyen will meet Hon’ble Rashtrapatiji, and hold restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi. An India-EU Business Forum is also expected to be organised on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit,” stated the MEA.

India-EU strategic partnership

It further stated that India and the EU have been “strategic partners” since 2004, adding that bilateral ties have been expanded across a wide range of areas.

“India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004. The 15th India-EU Summit was held virtually on 15 July 2020. Bilateral ties have expanded and deepened across a wide range of areas, particularly following the historic visit of the EU College of Commissioners to India in February 2025,” stated the MEA.

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“Participation of EU leaders as Chief Guests at the 77th Republic Day and the 16th India-EU Summit will further deepen the India-EU Strategic Partnership and advance collaboration in priority areas of mutual interest,” it added.

India-EU FTA talks in advanced stage

The visit of the two leaders comes at a time when negotiations between India and the European Union on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are at an advanced stage. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday that 20 of the 24 chapters under the proposed India-EU FTA have already been concluded, with a few remaining issues still under discussion.

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Agrawal said both sides are “virtually engaged on a day-to-day basis” as they attempt to meet the proposed timeline ahead of the leaders’ meeting. “We have closed 20 out of 24 chapters completely, there are few issues which are still ongoing negotiations, which we are virtually engaged on a day-to-day basis, and we are trying to see if we can meet the timeline before our leaders can meet,” he said as quoted by ANI.

‘Efforts meet the January deadline’

He added that efforts are being made to meet the January deadline, noting that the upcoming engagement between leaders presents an important opportunity. “We can meet that (January deadline) because that's a good occasion when our leaders are meeting, but we can only make efforts,” Agrawal said. “As I told you, coming near is not good enough,” he said, while adding a caveat.

Earlier this month, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal concluded a two-day visit to Brussels, which was seen as a significant step forward in advancing the India-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations.