Ansari opens festival of India in Havana Nirmal Sandhu/TNS Havana, October 30 The Festival of India was inaugurated by Vice-President Hamid Ansari shortly after his arrival from Lime here last evening. The festival has components such as films, dances, literary events apart from food, art and yoga, which incidentally is a part of the school curricula here. The thunderous applause given to the programme of Indian classical dances by spirited Cubans at the large Mella Theatre, which was packed to capacity, was amazing. Punjabi dances like bhangra and gidha do not figure in the festival. Earlier, on his arrival from Lima, the Vice President was received by C Rajasekhar, Ambassador to Cuba, and the Vice Foreign Minister of Cuba. Ansari is set to hold talks with Mr Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Vice President, and ministers of Cuba later in the day today. An agreement is expected to be signed. The Vice President will lay a wreath at Jose Marti, the Revolution Square, visit the Centre of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and view the Cannon Ceremony at old Havana before leaving for London, the third leg of his three-nation visit. Though India and Cuba have for long shared close relations since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru and engaged actively with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, now retired from public life due to age, on international fora like the UN and Non-Aligned Movement and World Trade Organisation, the volume of trade between the two countries is insignificant. It was just US$ 67.246 million in 2011. ONGC Videsh is engaged in oil exploration here since 2009. India has given $2.712 million aid to Cuba for setting up a milk powder and $5 million for modernising an injectable products plant in Havana. India and Cuba have shared interest in areas like trade, renewable energy, culture and sports. Cuban company CIMAB has provided technical knowhow and expertise on monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer to Indian company Biocon. India donated a solar power plant to Cuba in 1995 and set up an IT centre in 2010 in Havana to train professionals. Cuban coaches have trained young Indians in boxing, athletics, volleyball, judo and diving. There is a small minority of Indians living in Cuba, including 25 sisters working for missionaries of charity. There are some 200 descendants of Indians who came from Jamaica and parts of West Indies and settled in the Guantanamo province of eastern Cuba in the early 20th century.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 03:17:10 +0000
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