Bangkok swings to N-E beats

The second edition of the Northeast India Festival in Bangkok rose several notches higher in terms of grandeur and scale than the previous festival held in 2019. For starters, it was attended by top-level ministers from both countries. The opening was presided by the Deputy Prime Minster of Thailand Jurin Laksanawisit, and Indian Union minister of state for external affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Fashion show of globally renowned Manipuri designer Robert Naorem There was also a bevy of chief ministers, besides the tourism and revenue ministers from the Northeast Indian states, not to forget senior bureaucrats, trade representatives and directors of the tourism departments. The seminars on tourism and trade were of a very high order, as also the “People to People” exchange involving historians and academics from both countries. They gave unique details of the many connections between Thailand and the Northeast Indian states. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh was proud that the trade between India and Thailand increased to as much as $15 billion, in 2021-22, in spite of Covid. He sought for more investments in the Northeast region. “We will focus on our future relationship with Thailand, through commerce, culture and connectivity,” he stated, informing his audience that Gauhati and Imphal already had international airports, and Agartala would get one soon.Twenty rail routes would be launched to connect the eight Northeast states. Connectivity was the buzzword at the two-day meet, and many of the speakers held forth on the importance of the 875-mile Tripartite Highway between India, Thailand and Burma. This is almost ready, but has not been opened due to political problems in Burma. At the tourism seminar, Tanes Petsuwan, deputy governor of TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) hoped that there would be more air connections between Bangkok and the Northeast Indian region.. He informed that Air Asia would possibly be starting flights from Gauhati and Imphal to Bangkok. At the moment, all the connections are via Kolkata, which has at least four airlines flying to Thailand. The tourism seminar witnessed excellent presentations from the different Northeast Indian states, on their magnificent natural resources, tribal festivals, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, trekking sites, Unesco heritage sites and more. The CMs of some of the states admitted that they had faced the problems of insurgency earlier, but averred that it has been stamped out. The Mizoram minister of state for tourism, Robert Romawia Royte, informed his audience that his was the first state in the country to launch a “Resposnsible Mizoram Tourism Policy” in order to promote sustainable tourism. He also announced an international travel conference to be held in the state later this year which would be their first attempt to gain a global image. Rituparna Baruah, chairman of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation, spoke of the huge connection with Thailand through the large Tai Ahoum community in Assam. He said this unique connection should be an important starting point for tourism between the two countries. Chowna Mein, deputy chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, reiterated that “Northeast India and Thailand share many linguistic, ethnic, religious and cultural similarities which need to open new horizons". “We should continue to engage with Thailand, well after this event is over,” said Conrad K. Sangma, adding emphatically “We need 4 P’s for this — political will, policy, people and paisa.” The last word came from Neiphiu Rio, the chief minister of Nagaland: “We are small states, but if we can get together we can do big things.” He said he planned a follow-up meeting with all the chief ministers when they returned to their states. In fact, his delegation was the largest with 156 people, and they spoke of everything from the renowned Hornbill Festival to their “Vanguard Village”, Asia’s first Green Village. At the trade seminar, there were presentations from first-time entrepreneurs, dealing with products as varied as pickles, tea, coffee, electronics, textiles and fashion. There were about 30 small and medium enterprises which participated and displayed their products in an exhibition that was an important part of the festival. Peter Thawngneihchina of the National Small Industries Corporation Ltd dropped the important information that they gave monetary support to entrepreneurs, both machinery and capital. The “People to People” session included numerous scholars and historians who enumerated the many similarities between Thai customs and those from Northeast India in terms of festivals (Songkran), rituals (sacred thread on hand), food (bamboo shoot and glutinous rice) and much else. An important Thai speaker was Korn Dabbaransi, former Deputy PM, and president of the Thai-India Friendship Association. Apart...