India will organise the fifth edition of the mega cultural festival 'India by the Nile' in Egypt from Wednesday to showcase the diversity of the country's culture, arts and cuisine for building enduring partnership between the two ancient civilisations.
For the first time, the Indian flag will be projected onto the Giza Pyramids as part of the celebration.
The festival, to be held in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Port Said and Ismaila governorates from March 8 to April 27, is the largest cultural foreign festival in Egypt. It has been a great success in the country.
"The festival this year will be an exceptional one, for this year India is celebrating 70 years of independence as well as 70 years of diplomatic relations with Egypt," India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya said as he announced the launching of the festival.
"The festival will bring many surprises, including the visit of the biggest movie star in India to Egypt as part of the festival's interesting events," the ambassador said.
This year's India by the Nile Festival focuses on the youth of both countries and this will be reflected in the festival's programme, which will include the participation of India's under-16 football team, which will play two matches against Egypt's under-16 national team.
To promote Indian and Egyptian handicrafts, India will be organising a handicraft exhibition from March 8 to 14, three days of which have been dedicated for a joint handicraft exhibition of Indian and Egyptian handicrafts to relive and recreate the two countries' ancient civilisational ties.
The exhibition is organised in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Textile; Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, the Egyptian Ministry of Solidarity and the Federation of Egyptian Industries.
A national delegation of award-wining handicraft artisans from India will be visiting Egypt to take part in the exhibition, the ambassador added.
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