Looking at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the Act East Policy, the 3rd edition of the North East India Festival will be held at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, from October 27 to 29.

With the aim of connecting the North Eastern Indian region with South East Asia and opening new doors, this 3-day festival will feature a Tourism Business meeting, B2B trade meetings, People-to-People meet, an exhibition showcasing various products from the North Eastern region, including agri-horticultural items, food processing, and state-specific products.
Additionally, it will offer a spectacular lineup of events and cultural shows.

The inaugural session of the 3rd North East India Festival will be hosted by Madan Mohan Sethi, Consul General of India in Ho Chi Minh City. It will bring together critical stakeholders from both India and Vietnam, including the participation of various Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, and entrepreneurs. They will engage in discussions centred on bilateral trade and tourism.

Shyamkanu Mahanta, Chief Organizer of the North East India Festival, said that the 3rd North East India Festival aims to promote and showcase North East India as an attractive destination for investments, tourism, bilateral trade, and relations between India and Vietnam.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is talking about the Act East Policy of North East to South East Asia. We had organized the North East Festival in Delhi which is very popular and the Thailand government invited us to Bangkok. We organized the 1st North East India Festival in 2019 in Bangkok. Our Prime Minister went to Bangkok after that and he said that, India’s effort to connect North East India to South East Asia. It was a resounding success.

In 2022, it was again organized where Chief Ministers of North East went there and we have flight connectivity between Bangkok and Guwahati. We know very well that India and Vietnam are becoming closer by day and Vietnam is very close to India in all aspects. To celebrate the relationship between India and Vietnam, we are going to hold the 3rd North East India Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on October 27-29,” Shyamkanu Mahanta said.

He further said that the first objective is a connection between the people, cultural exchange, and exhibition of Incredible India, to showcase our products, tea.

“We want to start trade between North East India and Vietnam. We are also focusing on the tourism sector. There will be also academic exchange between the scholars of both countries. Policy-level discussions will also be held during the festival. We are expecting flight operation from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Guwahati. We are expecting investment MoUs will be signed. It is a serious attempt at trade, tourism, cultural exchange, people to people-to-people exchange. It is just a beginning. We will promote North East India, the relation between India and Vietnam,” he added.

It is pertinent to note that the objective of Act East Policy is to promote economic cooperation, and cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, thereby providing enhanced connectivity in its broadest sense, as per an official statement.