On Republic Day 2023, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will be included as the chief guest. The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed this. An invitation was sent to him on behalf of the Prime Minister, which was handed over to him by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit to Egypt on 16 October. India and Egypt have celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. The tradition of inviting foreign guests on the occasion of Republic Day in India started in 1950. In 1950, Sukarno, the then President of friendly country Indonesia, was invited as the chief guest.
Why is it such a great honor to be the chief guest on the Republic Day of India and on what basis is the chief guest selected for the Republic Day? Know the answers to these questions…
Why is it a great honor to be the chief guest on Republic Day?
Considering the Indian protocol and the importance of Republic Day, this is the highest honor for a foreign guest. On this day, the Chief Guest is present during the activities related to the ceremony. He is given a guard of honor in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan. After this, the President of India organizes a special reception for him in the evening. He pays homage at Raj Ghat in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation and in his honor the Prime Minister organizes a special event where the Vice President and the External Affairs Minister call on him.
In the report of Indian Express, Manbir Singh, who was the Ambassador of India between 1999 and 2002, says that the arrival of the Chief Guest is seen as a symbolic visit which tells the friendly relations between the President of India and that guest.
How is the Chief Guest selected?
Preparation to make a foreign guest the chief guest on Republic Day starts 6 months in advance. Manbir Singh says, while deciding the name of the guest, the Ministry of External Affairs takes care of many things. While stamping the name, it is first seen that how is India’s relationship with the country whose President or Prime Minister is being invited. What is the connection between politics, army and economy with that country. Keeping these special things in mind, the Ministry of External Affairs stamps that name.
Apart from this, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is also associated with it. Which started in the late 50s. The purpose of this movement was to support each other countries for nation building and to end the cold war. The first chief guest of the 1950 parade was President Sukarno of Indonesia. President Sukarno, Nasser (Egypt), Nkrumah (Ghana), Tito (Yugoslavia) and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (India) together laid the foundation of the Non-Aligned Movement.
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