Thailand's first woman PM Yingluck Shinawatra to be chief guest at Republic Day

NEW DELHI: Yingluck Shinawatra, the first woman Prime Minister of Thailand who will be the chief guest at the 63rd Republic Day parade, arrived here today.

Yingluck will attend a ceremonial reception tomorrow at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan and will later in the day lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi at Raj Ghat here.

Besides holding a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Yingluck will also call on President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari.

The invitation by India to Yingluck, who is the youngest sister of former premier and tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, is part of New Delhi's effort to boost its' 'look East' policy.

Yingluck is expected to hold talks on ways to increase trade and investment opportunities between the two countries, particularly in energy, petroleum and food industries.