After a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, the second edition of the North East India Festival will be held at the Thai capital of Bangkok next week.
The festival, organised by Trend MMS, a socio-cultural trust, with support of the Indian embassy and state governments of the region, is the biggest event showcasing the northeast’s culture, food and history abroad. It is expected to boost trade, people to people exchange, tourism etc.
“After the grand success of 2019, the second edition of the North East India Festival is back in Thailand from 30-31 July, 2022,” the Indian embassy in Bangkok tweeted earlier this week. This year, the festival will be held at Central World, a shopping complex.
This year, the festival will celebrate the 75th year of India’s diplomatic relations with Thailand. The first edition was organized in February 2019 and was very well attended. More than 400 delegates are travelling to Bangkok to participate in the festival, organisers informed.
The second edition of the festival will start with an inaugural session on July 29 at Centara Grand Hotel, Bangkok hosted by Indian Embassy. Union minister of state for external affairs RK Ranjan, several chief ministers and ministers from NE states, senior bureaucrats and industrialists from both India and Thailand will be present at the festival.
“Best wishes for the North East India Festival celebrating 75th anniversary of India-Thailand relations. It’s a great opportunity to showcase our region to the international community and create opportunities for our youth. I hope it will have positive impact and strengthen ties for mutual benefit,” Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio tweeted on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}“Best wishes for the North East India Festival celebrating 75th anniversary of India-Thailand relations. It’s a great opportunity to showcase our region to the international community and create opportunities for our youth. I hope it will have positive impact and strengthen ties for mutual benefit,” Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio tweeted on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}The main festival will have a large exhibition of governments of NE states, around 30 entrepreneurs from the region will showcase products with special focus on tea, crafts, agro products and tourism,” Shyamkanu Mahanta of Trend MMS said.
“There will also be an exhibition of cuisines, art and cultural display on both the days presenting various dance forms of NE states. This time the focus is on culture of the Tai community of the region,” he added.
The two-day event will have a fashion show by leading designers of the region as well as a musical event by well-known bands and artists like Tetseo Sisters, Zubeen Garg and Soulmate.
As part of the Centre’s Act East policy, a series of interactions will also be held to promote bilateral trade. A business meet on tourism will be attended by major tour operators of Thailand who will interact with tourism departments of NE states and tour operators of the region.