European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be chief guests at India's Republic Day celebrations next Monday.
Besides state banquets and the ceremonial pomp of the event, the two leaders will have a more pressing item on their agenda - advancing free trade talks with Asia's third largest economy. This comes at a particularly trying geopolitical moment for Europe, with Donald Trump first threatening to escalate his trade war with European allies for opposing a US takeover of Greenland and then backing off.
The choice of guests also carries an important diplomatic message from India - Delhi is accelerating strategic and trade ties with the rest of the world as the impasse over Washington's 50% tariffs on India spills over into the new year.