Republic Day 2018: The 10 ASEAN Leaders To Be Chief Guests This Year

Prime Minister Narendra will hold bilateral meetings with the visiting ASEAN leaders. (File)

New Delhi: In a first, the Republic Day parade in 2018 will be attended by 10 heads of state from ASEAN or Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional grouping of 10 Southeast Asian countries. In light of the presence of 10 chief guests at the Republic Day in Delhi, massive preparations have been made by 100-odd government agencies. Leaders from the 10 nations -- Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei -- will be present on a stage enclosed with a 100 feet wide bullet-proof glass. The chief guest at India's first Republic Day on January 26, 1950 was the President of Indonesia, and since then, five other Southeast Asian leaders have chief guests at the Republic Day parades.

Here are the ASEAN leaders who will be present at the Republic Day 2018 parade:

Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia since2014, is the first in his country without a high-ranking political or military background. Prior to becoming president, he served as the Governor of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Lee Hsien Loong, the third can current Prime Minister of Singapore has been in office since 2004. Mr Lee is the eldest child of Singapore's first first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Vietnam and member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Nguyen Xuan Phuc became the Prime Minister in 2016, at the 11th working session of the 13th National Assembly.
Dato Sri Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia was sworn into office in 2009. He is the eldest son of Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia's second Prime Minister and nephew of Hussein Onn, Malaysia's third Prime Minister.
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, a retired Royal Thai Army officer and current Prime Minister of Thailand, heads Thailand's military junta. He came to power after a military coup in 2014.
Aung San Suu Kyi, State Councillor of Myanmar serves as the country's de facto leader and has been in office since 2016. She was also the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Rodrigo Duterte is the President of Philippines, who took office in 2016. The 71-year-old is the oldest in his country to assume presidency.
Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan of Brunei is also the first and current Prime Minister of Brunei. He acceded to the throne after the abdicatrion of his father Omar Ali Saifuddien III.
Thongloun Sisoulith, the Prime Minister of Laos, previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos, from 2001 to 2016. He was also the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2016.
Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia has been in office since 1985. He is Cambodia's longest serving head of government.