He will be the first US President to participate in the Indian Republic Day celebration in New Delhi as the Chief Guest.

In a major sign of the deepening ties between India and the US, Prime Minister Modi has invited President Obama to be the chief guest at the Republic Day ceremony next year. Sources told The Hindu that the invitation was delivered by Prime Minister Modi during his visit to Myanmar and Australia, when he met with President Obama at the East Asia summit and the G-20 meeting of world leaders.

On Friday evening, shortly after receiving the official letter from the White House, Prime Minister Modi posted a message on Twitter to say, “This Republic Day, we hope to have a friend over…invited President Obama to be the 1st US President to grace the occasion as Chief Guest.”

In response, the US National Security Council twitter account said, “@ invite of @narendramodi, President Obama will travel to #India in Jan 2015 to participate in Indian Republic Day celebration as Chief Guest.”

A statement by the White House Press Secretary on the official website noted that this would “mark the first time a U.S. president will have the honour of attending Republic Day.”