How does India choose its chief guest for Republic Day? Here is the explainer you need

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France will become the chief guest of India for its Republic Day celebrations in the year 2024. This has been said by the Ministry of External Affairs and Elysee French presidential palace.

Ever wondered how the chief guest is selected for the Republic Day celebrations in the country?

Here is the explainer!

Firstly, how were the chief guests chosen in the past?

India has been associated with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) earlier, and this very factor played an important role in selecting the chief guest for the Republic Day celebration in India in the past. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of the 1950s and the 1960s was an international movement that helped newly decolonized nations in their development processes. India had President Sukarno of Indonesia as the very first chief guest of its Republic Day parade. Indonesia is one of the funding member nations of the Non-Aligned Movement.

How is the chief guest for Republic Day selected?

The selection process for the chief guest is not a one-day event. In fact, it starts from six months in advance of the Republic Day. Manbir Singh, the Ambassador has expressed that every consideration is taken care of by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The first and perhaps the most important concern that is taken care of before extending the invitation to any dignitary is to ponder over the kind of relationship existing between the country concerned and India. The Republic Day is a big event for India, and thus, sending an invitation to any dignitary from some other country signifies extending a hand of friendship with that country. Therefore, such a decision is an important one, and important factors like the economic, military, political, and commercial interests of India are to be taken care of. The Ministry of External Affairs seeks to make use of the big event as a perfect opportunity to foster ties with the invitee's country in these interests.

The process

The Ministry of External Affairs narrows down its options and then seeks the assent of the President and the Prime Minister of India. When the PM and President express their approval, the availability of the potential CG is checked. The MEA usually has a list of potential candidates.

Once the availability of one candidate is confirmed, India conducts official communication with the country of the potential invitee.