New Delhi: The Indian foreign ministry on Thursday said that no foreign head of state or head of government will be present at the annual Republic Day parade this year as the chief guest, for the first time in decades."Due to the global covid-19 situation, it has been decided that this year there will not be a foreign head of state or head of government as the chief guest for our Republic Day event," Foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava told reporters at the weekly foreign office briefing.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been invited as the chief guest for the parade on 26 January – seen as a high point of India’s diplomatic calendar every year – but he cancelled his India visit citing an upsurge in covid-19 cases triggered.