France's Macron invited for Republic Day: How India selects its chief guest

French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to be the chief guest for India’s Republic Day parade next month. New Delhi has reportedly invited him and if he accepts, Macron will be the sixth French president to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

Earlier, India was in talks with the Leaders of Quad countries for the Republic Day parade. However, this did not materialise due to the unavailability of United States president Joe Biden.

This year, Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was India’s chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations.

How does India select the chief guest for its Republic Day celebrations? What is its significance? Let’s understand.

A laborious task

Choosing the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations is not an everyday affair. In fact, it is the highest honour accorded by the country in terms of protocol.

A lot of consideration goes into deciding the chief guest. The selection process begins about six months before Republic Day, which India marks on 26 January every year.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) contemplates many aspects before extending the invitation to the head of state. The most basic consideration is New Delhi’s relationship with that country as being the chief guest invitee reflects that India wants to “build” or “reaffirm” its friendship with that nation, as per Hindustan Times (HT).

India’s political, commercial, military and economic interests also play a major role in the decision, with the MEA using the occasion to bolster ties with that country, reported Indian Express.

Another factor that has been taken into account historically was the chief guest’s association with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Founded in 1961, NAM was a global political movement of the newly liberated nations to stay clear of the Cold War tensions and back each other’s nation-building efforts. This was reflected in the selection of India’s first Republic Day chief guest in 1950 – then Indonesian president Sukarno, who was one of the founding members of the NAM.

After all these deliberations, the MEA seeks the nod of the Prime Minister and the President on the issue. Once the ministry gets the approval, it then proceeds further. The Indian ambassador in the concerned country discreetly tries to find out the potential chief guest’s availability as it is common for heads of state to have busy schedules and prior commitments, noted Indian Express.

Keeping this in mind, the MEA prepares a curated list of candidates instead of having just one option.

What happens next?

According to Indian Express, India and the country of the invitee hold official talks once the candidate is finalised. Territorial divisions in the MEA then get to work on agreements. The Chief of Protocol is responsible for charting out the details of the programme and logistics.

The comprehensive plan for the trip and the Republic Day event is shared with the Indian Protocol Chief’s counterpart of the visiting nation. The Indian government, the government of state(s) that the foreign dignitary might visit and the government of the concerned country are involved in the planning of the visit, the newspaper reported.

Organisers also prepare for all kinds of contingencies such as medical emergencies during the trip.

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Significance of the chief guest

All eyes are on the chief guest of the Republic Day and it is important the guest nation views the visit as successful. The foreign dignitary is accorded the ceremonial guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The head of state then attends the reception in the evening hosted by the Indian president.

They also lay a wreath at Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. A banquet is hosted by the Prime Minister in honour of the chief guest of the Republic Day.

Former Indian Foreign Service officer Manbir Singh told Indian Express earlier that the visit of the foreign dignitary for the Republic Day parade “portrays the Chief Guest as participating in India’s pride and happiness, and reflects the friendship between the two peoples represented by the President of India and the Chief Guest”.

India-France ties

India inviting France’s Macron signals the close ties between the two nations. The last time India invited a French president as its chief guest for the Republic Day parade was in 2016 when Francois Hollande graced the occasion.

Notably, PM Narendra Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day (France’s national day) celebrations and parade in July this year.

As per ThePrint report, France recently submitted bids for the Indian Navy’s plans to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets for aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

France has also supported India at global forums including the United Nations. The invitation to Macron displays India’s intention to further strengthen its relations with France with which it enjoys a strategic partnership in defence, space, and nuclear areas.

With inputs from agencies