30 Years of ASEAN-India Friendship Celebrated by Hosting 3-Day Music Festival

21st November, Chennai: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in association with Seher concluded the 3-day ASEAN-India music festival, on Sunday at the Purana Qila. This music festival celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relationship between ASEAN and India, marking 2022 as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year. The MEA hosted several ASEAN countries for the music festival, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore among others.

Among Indian performers, the music festival saw performances from Papon, Jonita Gandhi, Amar Jalal, Raghav Meattle and the famous duo of Vishal & Shekhar. From ASEAN countries, a total of 10 bands performed, including, Vietnam’s Tri Minh’s Quartet, Malaysia’s Instamuzika, Brunei’s Empty Wallet, Singapore’s Linying Band and Indonesia’s Riau Rhythm.

After the conclusion of this music festival, Minister of State for External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi tweeted, “Enhancing ASEAN-India Cultural Connect. Witnessed the scintillating performance by bands from @ASEAN & India at the finale of #ASEAN-India Music Festival at Purana Qila. Celebrating 30 years of ASEAN-India relations and our deep cultural connect. #ASEANIndiaFriendshipYear”

The second edition of this music festival is a prime example of cultural connectivity between India and the different ASEAN countries. While music is one medium of cultural connect, even the existence of shared cultural history between India and ASEAN countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, where Hindu mythological remains are prevalent, become a close connection between India and the Southeast Asian region. Thus, the future partnership between India and ASEAN will continue to build further as time progresses.