World Leaders commemorate the centenary of World War 1; VP Venkaiah Naidu represents India

World leaders have gathered in Paris to commemorate the centenary of the armistice that concluded World War One. 

Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu was in attendance in Paris on Sunday, as were US President Donald Trump, Russia President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel who accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron and 70 other world leaders to honour close to 10 million soldiers, killed at the great war. 

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The ceremony that was held at the Arc de Triomphe was addressed by French President Macron, who urged the world leaders to take a cohesive stand to ‘fight for peace.’

Macron told the leaders, 'let us build our hopes rather than playing our fears against each other'.

Acknowledging the first global battle, he further affirmed that the traces of the war will never be wiped away -- neither in France, Europe, the Middle East, nor all over the world.  

On Saturday, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu unveiled the Indian Armed Forces Memorial at Villers-Guislain in Northern France to pay tribute to around one million Indian soldiers who fought in the war overseas. The memorial, built by the Indian government, pays homage to the soldiers who fought the great war in an unacquainted land, with an unfamiliar enemy for the imperialistic rulers.   

In the United Kingdom, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, laid the wreath at the Cenotaph in memory for those who gave their lives for the war. He was joined by the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Cornwall, watched from the balcony. 

Later in the day, the royal family, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be attending a service at Westminster Abbey.

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World War One, which lasted for four long years had France, Russia, United States and the British empire fighting against the German-led coalition of Austria, Hungary and Ottoman empires. The war witnessed the first ever use of gas as a weapon, and resulted in a loss of 37 million human lives.