Brazilian Prez in India for R-Day celebrations

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 24

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrived here today on a four-day visit during which he will be the chief guest at the 71st Republic Day Parade and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind a day earlier.

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East), External Affairs Ministry, said the focus of the Brazilian President’s visit will be to re-energise the ties in a number of key sectors. “The visit of President Bolsonaro is extremely important. It will be an opportunity to re-energise our strategic partnership and take it forward in a focused manner,” she had said at a press conference on Thursday.

Bolsonaro is accompanied by eight ministers, four members of the Brazilian Parliament, senior officials and a large business delegation. It will be the third time that a Brazilian President will be the chief guest at the Republic Day.

Bolsonaro will face protests from an umbrella body of farmers’ organisations that allege that Brazil is threatening the future of Indian sugarcane and sugar producers by having approached the WTO to scrap its minimum floor price for farmers. CPI MP Binoy Vishwam has in a letter to PM Modi declared that he will boycott the reception on January 26 at which Bolsonaro will be present against his alleged bigotry, misogyny, homophobia and discrimination.

Facial recognition system and drones are part of the measures taken by Delhi Police ahead of the Republic Day in the national capital where 10,000 security personnel have been to maintain vigil. DCP (New Delhi Zone) Eish Singhal said sharpshooters and snipers will be deployed atop high-rise buildings to keep a watch on the 8-km-long parade route from Rajpath to the Red Fort on January 26. Hundreds of CCTV cameras have also been placed in view of the security arrangements.

(With inputs from PTI)