Embassy of India, Beirut celebrated 69th Republic Day of India on 26 January 2018 with Flag Hoisting Ceremony at the Embassy premises in the morning, attended by Indian nationals in Lebanon. HE Ambassador Sanjiv Arora unfurled the National Flag of India and read out the Hon’ble President’s Address to the nation on the eve of the Republic Day.
In the evening, Embassy hosted an Official Reception at Le Royal Hotel. The event was enthusiastically attended by invited guests including several dignitaries and senior officials from Lebanese Government; Members of Parliament; senior functionaries of political parties; members of Diplomatic Corps including UN organizations; and prominent personalities in diverse sectors such as business, arts and culture, academia, media and entertainment, etc. The function was organized in cooperation with the Association for Development of Lebanon India Relations (ADLIR).
Distinguished guests on the stage joining HE Ambassador Sanjiv Arora, during the formal programme included HE Jamal Jarrah, Minister of Telecommunications; HE Avedis Guidanian, Minister of Tourism; H.E. Nicola Tueni, Minister of State for Combating Corruption; HE Ali Osseiran, Member of Parliament and Founding Chairman of Lebanese-Indian Parliamentary Friendship Committee; Mr. Assaf Doumit, Acting Chief of Protocol; HE Monsignor Ivan Santus, Acting Apostolic Nuncio and Dean of Diplomatic Corps; Mr. Ali Ghandour, President of the Association for Development of Lebanon India Relations (ADLIR) and Colonel Santosh Tripathi, Commanding Officer of the Indian Battalion in UNIFIL.
After the National Anthems of Lebanon and India during the Official Reception, Ambassador Sanjiv Arora addressed the august gathering, which was followed by a cake-cutting ceremony. The programme included a special musical performance by the ceremonial band of Indian Battalion (5 Assam Regiment Infantry Battalion Group) of UNIFIL followed by a dance performance by local students (mostly Lebanese) attending the popular dance classes conducted at the Embassy by a dance teacher deputed by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).