Republic Day: UK PM David Cameron & French President Francois Hollande in probable chief guest list

NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who recently won a second term in office, French President Francois Hollande, and Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy Brey are among the leaders whose names are being considered as chief guest for the 2016 Republic Day celebrations.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the UK this November, Cameron’s name is doing rounds in the corridors of power for the next Republic Day celebrations, given the importance of Indo-British ties.

It may be recalled that Cameron was among the handful of leaders from the West who supported Modi during his days as Gujarat chief minister. Later, Cameron was keen to visit India en route to Australia for the G20 summit last year but the tight schedule did not permit, and Modi’s proposed trip to London was postponed owing to parliamentary elections in the UK. It may be noted here that the Asian community had played an important role in Cameron’s electoral victory.

However, there’s a rider. Officials pointed out that as Modi would himself visit London in November, the political leadership here may decide to invite Cameron later for the event instead of 2016. A British PM has not attended India’s Republic Day celebrations in the past two decades. John Major was the last British PM who attended the R-Day celebrations in 1993.

But Cameron is not the only European leader whose name is being talked about for the invite. France is India's strongest strategic partner in Europe -- across defence, space and nuclear energy sectors. Hollande's name figures in the list of prospective invitees, officials informed. French Presidents though have attended the January 26 celebrations in recent decades and Nicholas Sarkozy had the honor in 2008. Modi visited France this April where an advanced pact for a plant at Jaitapur was concluded. Besides, a decision to buy 36 advanced Rafale fighter jets was also taken.


The other prospective invitee for the next January 26 -- Spanish PM Rajoy -- is a surprise. While bilateral relations with Madrid have been steady, but not exceptional. However, Spain has potential in the fields of defence and infrastructure from which India can benefit, officials pointed out. But this is not the first time that a Spanish leader will be a chief guest at the event. Spanish King Juan Carlos I attended the occasion way back in 1982.

It has been learnt that Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff’s name was earlier also in contention for the event. However, the suggestion was dropped as the President will be visiting India in the middle of next year for the BRICS Summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was chief guest on January 26 in 2004.

It is not an easy task to select a chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations, given Delhi’s growing economic and strategic interests globally. The MEA recently drew up a list of possible Republic Day chief guests not only for 2016, but for the next five years, officials indicated to ET. "The list has been forwarded to the political echelons and it is up to them to make the final choice. They may decide to invite someone from beyond the list," an official said.

The list has been drafted on certain factors as countries have been chosen depending on India's economic, defence and strategic requirements besides multilateral and regional necessities, according to sources. In 2017, the list of countries under consideration are from South Asia followed by the Gulf in 2018. In 2019, the idea is to invite a leader of Person of Indian Origin followed by a leader from Africa in 2020.

However, careful thought has been given to avoid countries going to elections and where PM might visit in the next few years. Countries such as Japan and Russia with which India holds annual summits have also been avoided. While Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was the chief guest in 2014, Vladimir Putin was the main guest in 2007.