India to launch mega cultural fest in Egypt

India to launch mega cultural fest in Egypt

India's Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri

Cairo: Unfazed by political unrest in Egypt, India will launch the second edition of a mega cultural extravaganza, including a Bollywood musical, to showcase vibrant bilateral ties and make the relationship more dynamic. 

"I think a festival like this gets a lot of visibility and demonstrates that India has taken a major initiative here. That generates goodwill, both at the official level and amongst the public," India's Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri told PTI ahead of the "India by the Nile" festival this week. 

The festival, running from April 1-20, will have a grand opening with Bollywood Love Story- A Musical at the Opera House from the April 3 to 6, and will see more than 35 Indian dancers performing to the much-loved music of Indian cinema. 

The musical will also travel to three major Egyptian cities namely Alexandria, Hurghada and Luxor. The festival is being held for the second consecutive year in Egypt. 

Suri said events like these make the relationship between one of the leading emerging economies, India, and the largest country in the Middle East, Egypt, more "dynamic and vibrant". 

Asked about the timing of the festival with political unrest in Egypt, Suri said, "We are aware, of course, about the various incidents of violence but as residents of Egypt, we also see the extent to which daily life continues normally." 

"We have always enjoyed close ties with Egypt and there is a genuine fondness for Indian culture amongst the Egyptian people. But we can't get complacent and take things for granted. The festival is part of the embassy's pro-active approach to reach out to the Egyptian public and to promote cultural understanding," he said. 

Suri said Bollywood was quite popular in Egypt and for this reason a number of Bollywood-themed events were planned in the festival, including the big Bollywood-style musical and the participation of Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. 

"We are keen to convey a more composite picture of Indian culture, to tell our Egyptian friends that there is more to India than Bollywood. And so we have Kathak dance, Rajasthani foil music, conversations among writers, cuisine and much more," he said.

The Ambassador stressed that India stands to gain from engaging with Egypt by helping it build institutions of democracy and investing in the economic sector.

"We have a number of economic cooperation projects in the pipeline and work continuously to enhance trade and investment flows," he said.

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