South Africa President to be chief guest for Republic Day 2019

New Delhi, Dec 1: South Africa President, Cyril Ramaphosa, accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to be the chief guest for India's Republic Day celebrations in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in Buenos Aires, on the sidelines of G20Summit.

Last month, US president Donald Trump turned down India's invitation to be the chief guest at the 70th Republic Day celebrations in January.

Officially though, neither the Indian foreign ministry nor the US embassy have said anything on the matter. When asked, the US embassy in Delhi said only the White House could comment on the president's travel plans.

In 2015, when the then US President Barack Obama visited India for Republic Day.

Cyril Ramaphosa is the fifth President of South Africa. He became President following the resignation of Jacob Zuma. Previously an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and businessman, Ramaphosa served as the Deputy President of South Africa from 2014 to 2018. He was elected President of the African National Congress (ANC) at the ANC National Conference in December 2017.