Donald Trump will be taking oath as the US President later today for the 2nd term. The ceremony will take place at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C and the oath will be administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, with the ceremony including traditional elements such as an inaugural address and a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The high-profile event will be closely watched by foreign representatives as well. But what has been India's representation? Here we explain that.
Trump oath taking Ceremony
India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is representing the Prime Minister as his Special Envoy at the inaugural function of President Donald Trump in Washington DC. He is carrying a letter from the Prime Minister for President Trump. EAM Dr S Jaishankar is present at the "invitation of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee", India's ministry of external affairs made an announcement on 12th January. Important to point out, foreign ministers of all Quad countries, India's external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar, Australia's FM Penny Wong and Japan FM Iwaya are present, and likely to hold a Quad FM's meet with incoming US Secretary of state Marco Rubio. Rubio is likely to get a full senate confirmation, paving way for him to discharge his official duties as incoming US Secretary of state.
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Past Practice
Typically, India does not send its Prime Minister or President to the swearing-in ceremonies of other countries' leaders. India's general practice has been to send Special Envoys of the Prime Minister to attend the swearing in ceremony of Heads of State and Government. This practice is based on an unspoken policy to maintain a certain level of diplomatic protocol.
History of Indian representation
Indian ministers have represented Indian government at the oath taking ceremonies. A history of such representation:
May 2023: Indian Defence Minsiter Rajnath Singh attended the swearing in ceremony of Nigeria President
November 2023: Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju attended the swearing in ceremony of Maldives President
July 2024: Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari attended the swearing in ceremony of Iran President
October 2024: MoS for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita attended the swearing in ceremony of Indonesian President, Mexico President.
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June 2022: MoS for External Affairs Raj Kumar Ranjan Singh attended the swearing in ceremony of Philippines President.
August 2021: EAM Dr S Jaishankar attended the swearing in ceremony of Iran President Ebrahim Raisi.
Only Exception
The only exception to this rule was when PM Modi attended the swearing in ceremony of Maldives President Solih in November 2018. The 2018 visit was the first visit of PM Modi to Maldives and was seen as a significant in the context of India's neighbourhood first policy. After the swearing in ceremony, PM held bilateral talks with the Maldives President Solih during which he conveyed India’s desire to work closely for the realization of Maldives’ developmental priorities, esp in areas of infrastructure, health care, connectivity.