A three-day festival from July 29 in Thailand will showcase Northeast India and explore its shared history through a series of discussions, exhibitions, buyer-seller encounters, and song, dance and fashion events.
The second edition of the North East India Festival is being held in Bangkok to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s diplomatic relations with Thailand. The first edition was organized in February 2019.
Bollywood actress Andrea Kevichusa (of “Anek” fame), stars from the Northeast and well-known Thai actors will walk the ramp for Northeastern fabrics from designers from the region such as Anuradha Kuli, Robert Naorem, Priyanka Lama, Mami, Bidyut & Rakesh, Iba Mallai, Kivitoli Chishi, Meghali Das and Daisy Momin. Top musical bands from the Northeast such as Soulmate, David Angu & the Tribe, Zubeen Garg and band, Tetseo Sisters and TaFMA will take the stage. Famous rock band from Thailand STAMP is also on the program.
Delectable cuisines from the northeast will be another attraction at the festival. Representatives from northeastern states and about 30 SME entrepreneurs will showcase products from the region with a special focus on tea, crafts, agro-horticultural products and tourism, said festival chief organizer Shyamkanu Mahanta.
“The festival is an effort to create a market for products from the Northeast, promote tourism, especially targeting Tai tourism circuits, and create a connection between people and academia,” Mahanta told PTI.
“We are trying to follow our Prime Minister’s Act East vision to connect both regions,” he added.
With a focus on the Tai culture of the Northeast, a large team from the Tai Khamti and Tai Ahom communities will present their history, heritage and culture and communicate with prominent Thai scholars and historians. “The festival proposes to focus on Tai tourism circuits of Upper Assam, the historical monuments of Tai Ahom, the village of Tai Phake and the Tai Khamti areas of Arunachal Pradesh,” said Mahanta.
The festival kicks off with an inaugural session on July 29 at the Centara Grand Hotel, Bangkok, hosted by the Indian Embassy.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Chowna Mein, Mizoram Minister of Tourism Pu Robert Romawia Royte, Assam Minister Urkhao Gwra Brahma alongside senior officials of India and Thailand, and Thailand’s top industrialists and influencers are expected to attend the session.
The main festival of art, culture, music and dance takes place on July 30 and 31 at Central World in Bangkok.
Governor of Chadchart Sittipunt in Bangkok, ambassadors from several ASEAN and QUAD countries are also expected to attend the festival, Mahanta said.
The festival is organized by socio-cultural trust Trend MMS with support from the Indian Embassy in Bangkok, several northeastern states and the Northeast Indian diaspora of Thailand under the organization NEIA.
In line with the vision of Act East Policy, a series of B2B meetings will be organized to promote bilateral trade.
Business meetings on tourism will be attended by Thailand’s major tour operators, who will work with tourism departments of the northeastern states and the region’s operators.
The buyer-seller interaction will focus on promoting markets for products from the Northeast, Mahanta said.
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