New Delhi: The Indian Embassy celebrated Bihar Diwas in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent in a four-day event starting from March 17, which focused on culture, investment opportunities and tourism in the state.
In a unique initiative, the embassy, in collaboration with the Government of Bihar and the Economic Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, focused on presenting the state of Bihar to the business circles of Uzbekistan.
The grand event highlighted the cultural richness and history of Bihar. Uzbek businesses, journalists, academia, the Indian diaspora, and businesspersons attended the event.
Indian Ambassador To Uzbekistan Manish Prabhat welcomed the guests at the event and introduced the state of Bihar to the audience.
Uzbekistan Member of Parliament Mukhtor Umarov, who is also the president of the Exporters Association of Uzbekistan, and Shavkat Ismailovich, CEO of LAHISAM, a leading Uzbek pharmaceuticals company, addressed the event, emphasising the need to establish business relations between Uzbekistan and Bihar and identifying mutual strengths of their respective economies.
Ashok Tiwary, president of Tashkent India Club, an Indian diaspora organisation, also spoke on the special occasion and emphasised on growing India-Uzbekistan economic ties and how Bihar will play a significant role in this.
Various presentations by officials of the embassy highlighted investment and export policies of the Government of Bihar, the state's culture and its tourism sector. The discussion also suggested that Bihar’s agricultural products like mangoes and bananas can find a ready market in Uzbekistan as the Government of Uzbekistan has given permission for their import from India.
To reflect the culture and various colours of Bihar, the students of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Cultural Centre presented folk songs and dances. The special focus on Bihar continued during the joint Holi-Navroz celebrations organised by the embassy on March 20. The Uzbek guests were served Bihari dishes including 'litti chokha' and 'chura dahi'. This was the first such presentation in Uzbekistan that was focused on Bihar.