Since 1950, when Sukarno, the president of Indonesia at the time, was invited as the primary guest, leaders of friendly countries have attended India’s Republic Day celebrations.
2023 Republic Day Chief Guest
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt, will be the featured guest during the Republic Day celebrations in 2023. The Arab Republic of Egypt’s President will be our Republic Day celebrations’ chief guest for the first time this year.
On October 16, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar presented Egyptian President al-Sisi with a formal invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the two nations’ establishment of diplomatic ties.
Egypt has been asked to participate in the G-20 under India’s Presidency in 2022–2023 as a “Guest Country.” Based on centuries-old and firmly ingrained people-to-people relationships, India and Egypt have cordial and amicable relations.
When Republic Day celebrations were held without a foreign leader as chief guest
The Republic Day celebrations were not attended by a foreign head of state in 1952, 1953, or 1966. Boris Johnson, the then-prime minister of the United Kingdom, was invited as the chief guest in 2021, but his trip had to be postponed because to the increase of COVID-19 cases in Britain.
7 things that makes republic day different from independence day
As the main guests for the Republic Day celebrations this year, India had invited the heads of the five Central Asian Republics who were coming to Delhi for the India-Central Asia Summit. The visit was postponed, nevertheless, because of the increase of COVID-19 cases in India. The summit between India and Central Asia took place virtually.
Republic Day celebration chief guests of previous years
In 2018, all ten heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were present in the Republic Day parade. Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil at the time, was the special guest in 2020.
In the past, former French presidents Nicholas Sarkozy (2008), Francois Hollande (2016), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2007), and former US President Barack Obama (2015) have all attended Republic Day ceremonies as the primary guests.
