State seals letter of intent with Bali

The Bali province of Indonesia and Uttarakhand will support each other in tourism, culture, e-governane, environment, health, human resource and capacity building. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika signed a five-point letter of intent to this effect here on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Rawat said that the cooperation in field of tourism, culture, environment and health will bring the two States closer. Remarking that Bali was also an important tourist destination, he said that following this agreement, the flow of tourists will rise further resulting in increased tourism in both Indonesia and India. He hoped that more Indonesian tourists will visit Uttarakhand.   

Expressing his views on the occasion, the Bali governor said that Bali was Hindu-majority province with 90 per cent of residents belonging to Hindu community. More than 5,000 people from Bali visit Haridwar and Rishikesh every year.

A large number of people in Bali follow Mahabharata and Ramayana epics with Vedic rituals and traditions still being prevalent in the State. Pastika also said that Bali is an important tourist destination with 17,000 foreign tourists visiting it every day. Stating that he was fond of Uttarakhand, having visited it in 2007 and 2014, Pastika also invited Rawat to Bali.

Welcoming the development, the State Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj said that he would accompany the Bali governor for the Ganga Arti in Rishikesh during the evening.

On Tuesday, he would accompany Pastika and show him the prominent religious and spiritual sites in Rishikesh and Haridwar. He said that now the tourism potential and culture of Uttarakhand would gain more popularity in Bali.

Uttarakhand Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik, Tourism secretary Dilip Javalkar, additional secretary Jyoti Khairwal and other officials were also present on the occasion.