Abu Metha with Heather Croall, director and chief executive,
and Andy Beecroft, marketplace manager of Honey Pot, at the Adelaide Fringe
Festival 2025 in Australia on March 14.
DIMAPUR — Advisor
to chief minister and chairman of Investment and Development Authority of
Nagaland (IDAN), Abu Metha, met the leaders in Australia and held discussions
on possible collaborations, partnerships and mutual agreements.
Metha and Theja Meru, chairman of TaFMA, attended the
Adelaide Fringe Festival 2025 in Australia on March 14 as official delegates
from India.
A DIPR report stated that Adelaide Fringe festival is the
world’s second largest arts festival that takes place for 30 days in the
capital city of South Australia and is commemorating its 65th edition. The
festival has more than 1000 events with performances from all over the world.
The festival and its related activities contribute more than 100 million
dollars as new money to the economy and also create in excess of 13,000 job
opportunities while also boosting tourism with arrivals of over three lakh
tourists
It stated that Metha met festival directors and stakeholders
and leaders of the industry from within Australia and different parts of the
world. Metha took the opportunities of the several meetings and deliberations
with multiple leaders and delegations to highlight Nagaland as a tourist destination
and the emergence of the Hornbill Festival as a renowned cultural and arts
festival that has been built to its present status over the past 25 years.
Metha emphasised that the vision and policy of Nagaland’s
“Land of Festivals” plays a pivotal role in bolstering the economy while
enriching the rich cultural landscape of Nagaland and India to the global
community. He also underscored the emerging potentials of Nagaland as an
investment destination which is aligned with India’s Act East Policy, highlighting
the fact that India’s 5 trillion economy is the 5th largest in the world.
Metha dwelled on Nagaland’s geographical advantage as a
gateway between the Indian sub-continent and the ASEAN, with the added assets
of rich human capital and a vibrant young population. He emphasised on the fact
that Nagaland has several other unique factors like rich biodiversity, scenic
beauty and warm hospitality of the people.
Metha also shared the close bonds of India and Nagaland with
Australia as a fellow Commonwealth country and highlighted Nagaland’s special
position in history in the context of the iconic Battle of Kohima during the
2nd World War.
Meanwhile, Meru also highlighted the vast potentials of the
music, arts and entertainment sector of Nagaland. He showcased the Hornbill
Music Festival, one of the largest such events not only in India but
internationally.
He interacted with festival directors and held follow-up
deliberations of the Asia Music Summit, which was hosted by India in Kohima.
It stated that both Metha and Meru also attended the
Womadelaide, an expo on music, arts and dance. They met Ian Scobie, director of
Womadelaide, and discussed future collaborations, partnerships and exchanges.
They also met industry leaders, festival directors and attended
several showcase performances and festival spotlights.
They also participated at Honeypot, a networking showcasing
and spotlights event that brought leaders of the arts, festivals and
entertainment industry from around the world to network and explore
collaborations.
Metha expressed confidence that the venture of attending
those international events would enhance the possibilities of creating
opportunities for the talents of the state in the coming years.
The delegation’s itinerary included visit to facilities and
infrastructures for sports and games, centres for performing arts, musicals and
exhibitions, libraries and public infrastructures. The visits and interactions
gave an opportunity to get first-hand experience of multiple verticals and get
a better understanding of not just the designs and concepts but operations,
collaborations and sustainable long-term visions.
