The three-day North East India Festival (NEIF) to promote the Act East Policy will begin in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday with stakeholders from both India and Vietnam holding discussions on bilateral trade and tourism. The inaugural session of the third edition of the festival will be hosted by the Consul General of India Madan Mohan Sethi, NEIF’s Chief Organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta told PTI. (Also Read | Dhordo, winner of UNWTO’s best tourism village award, is ready for Rann Utsav)
It will bring critical stakeholders from both the countries, Mahanta said. The festival, being held at the 23rd September Park here, is aimed to establish deeper ties between India and Vietnam through business, art and culture, he said.
The Consul General said that the festival constitutes a diverse array of activities, including trade, tourism and academic sessions that will facilitate business and academic linkages between India and Vietnam.
“This event exemplifies our collective endeavour to bridge North East India with Vietnam through trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, aligning with the Act East Policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Sethi said.
The festival, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, seeks to take forward the Act East Policy by focusing on trade, tourism, cultural and academic exchanges, Mahanta said.
The DONER (Development of North Eastern Region) ministry will organise a meeting on tourism and facilitate interactions between tour operators from North East India and their Vietnamese counterparts, he said.
A meeting on trade will also be held under the aegis of Invest India to showcase North East as an attractive destination for investments, tourism and bilateral trade, he said.
A people-to-people exchange meeting will also be held to offer a platform for scholars, academicians and historians from North East India to engage with their Vietnamese counterparts, he said.
“NEIF has successfully opened up new vistas in India’s relationship with South East Asia, thanks to the substantial support of the government of India”, Mahanta said.
The overwhelming support from the state governments of North East region has also helped in organising the country’s biggest event in South East Asia and “translate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision on Act East Policy into action”, he added.
The festival will host various exhibitions, including ‘Incredible India’ destinations, textiles, state-specific exhibition zones representing various Northeastern states, tea industry among others.
The event’s entertainment line-up will feature an array of cultural performances, including colourful folk dances from North East India, rock bands from both countries and fashion shows by designers from the region.
Leading designers Sanghamitra Phukan, Bidyut-Rakesh, Manjushree Saikia, Yana Ngoba, Hasina Kharbih, Iba Mallai among others will showcase their works. The fashion show will feature models from Vietnam, Mahanta said.
Musical performances by TaFMA (Task Force for Music and Arts) from Nagaland, The Fantastic Company (TFS), Bright Lights, guitar prodigy Imnainla Jamir, Trance Effect, K L Pamei and the popular band from Meghalaya ‘Summersalt’ will also be held on the occasion.
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