Meghalaya Government has proposed a Musical exchange programme to the Indian Embassy in the Philippines.
Minister Incharge of Tourism and Art and culture Paul Lyngdoh on Friday hosted Harsh Kumar Jain, the Indian Ambassador-designate to Ukraine and soon-to-be Ambassador to the Philippines.
Talking to Mediapersons, Lyngdoh informed that one of the key points discussed with the soon-to-be Ambassador to the Philippines was to have a musical exchange program to help Meghalaya’s young musicians go global, inspired by the success of the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP), which has supported over 3,000 musicians.
“The proposal that I have shared with him was how do we, as Ambassador-designate, facilitate this exchange on a regular basis between the Philippines and Meghalaya. We also discussed that in the field of culture, there is a huge scope for cultural exchange programs, especially given the affinity we have in terms of education. English is well spoken across the Philippines,” The Art and Culture Minister said.
The Minister also highlighted potential collaborations in the health sector, including opportunities for medical students and professionals from Meghalaya.
It may be mentioned that the Philippines is likely to see a rise in the number of Indian students heading to the country for medical studies after it recently made legislative changes opening its doors for foreign students to practice medicine locally once they earn their Doctor of Medicine degree.
He mentioned that the Ambassador-designate promised to visit Meghalaya more frequently to strengthen these ties.
Meanwhile, talking to media persons, Harsh Kumar Jain, soon-to-be Ambassador to the Philippines said he is committed to supporting students from the region who study abroad, encouraging them to stay in contact with the Embassy in Manila.
Speaking to Mediapersons, the Ambassador said , “The purpose of my visit to Shillong is to promote relations between the Northeast region and the Philippines, where I’m going as ambassador in a few weeks. As you are perhaps aware, the Act East policy of the Government of India aims to promote relations between the Northeast region of India and countries of ASEAN.”
Jain, the Indian Ambassador-designate to Ukraine also spoke about the Indian students returning to western Ukraine after the situation normalised.