With just over two weeks left for Republic Day celebrations, reports claim Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest this year. The reports come just two days after Indonesia joined BRICS as a full member with the backing of India and others.
However, Delhi is yet to formally announce Subianto's visit, contrary to the precedence where the name of the chief guest is declared months ahead of the ceremony. Reason: Prabowo's reported plan to club India visit with Pakistan. New Delhi, apparently, isn't thrilled about this.
The Centre had earlier too encouraged foreign leaders to not include Pakistan in their itinerary while travelling to India in a bid to de-hyphenate their ties with the two countries.
However, things are moving fast in Pakistan with Islamabad announcing the impending visit of Prabowo on January 26. So much so that a high-level committee was formed ahead of the visit to formulate concrete proposals to enhance relations with Indonesia in different sectors. "This landmark visit will open new avenues for trade and cooperation, further strengthening bilateral relations between Pakistan and Indonesia," Pakistan federal minister Ahsan Iqbal told reporters.
India, on its part, has already raised this before Indonesia so as to persuade Prabowo to fly directly to Islamabad from Delhi. The Centre views this direct flight as bad optics, considering India's almost non-existent relationship with Pakistan over multiple issues, including terrorism.
Interestingly, the last time an Indonesian President visited India for an R-Day function was in 2018 when then-President Joko Widodo was a chief guest. He also flew directly to Pakistan from New Delhi. However, on that occasion, Widodo was just one of 10 Southeast Asian leaders invited as joint chief guests as part of India's joint invite to all ASEAN heads to commemorate 25 years of engagement with the bloc.
If Prabowo agrees to India's demand, which is likely considering the rapport both countries enjoy, an announcement is likely soon. However, Deccan Chronicle quoted unnamed sources in New Delhi which said officials of India and Indonesia were in discussion about the itinerary of the president.
Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron was the chief guest and the announcement about his visit in December. Before that, it was Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, the announcement of which came as early as November.
