How does India choose its Republic Day Chief Guest?

UK prime minister Boris Johnson will be the sixth British leader to be chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, and the honour was last extended to former prime minister John Major in 1993.

The chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations is chosen in keeping with India’s strategic, diplomatic and economic interests, as well as New Delhi’s relations with the concerned country.

The process process of selecting Republic Day chief guest begins six months ahead of the Republic Day celebration where in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) carefully scrutinizes India’s relations with the concerned country, and then sends an invite to their Head of State.

According to Indian Express, The MEA considers, political and economic relations, commercial relations, and military cooperation, and the strong emotional attachment with the Non Aligned Movement (NAM)

All these considerations often point in different directions and choosing a Chief Guest, therefore, often poses a challenge.