Indo-ASEAN Car Rally flag off from Imphal
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, December 15 2012:
The Indo-ASEAN Car Rally which had been flagged off from the South Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on November 25 last reached Imphal today and later proceeded for Dimapur after the car rallyist were given a hearty reception at the historic Kangla here today.
The car rally is being held to celebrate the 20 years of dialogue partnership of India with South East Asian bloc (ASEAN) and also to take the existing India-ASEAN relationship to a higher level.
The fleet of SUVs representing the 11 ASEAN countries reached Imphal at around 1:30 pm today after crossing eight ASEAN nations and covering over a distance of 7000 km.
At Imphal, enthusiastic crowd including school and college students received them amidst greetings.
Students of TG Higher Secondary School in marigold and pink colour uniforms holding encouraging banners in their hands welcomed the participants of the rally near Imphal Post Office by lining up themselves upto the mouth of Jail Road.
A grand reception was organized at Kangla where Chief Minister O Ibobi; Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam; other Cabinet Ministers; MLAs and top officials of the State and the Central Governments accorded warm welcome to the participating car rallyists.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister O Ibobi highlighted the ethnic and cultural similarities between the participating rallyists from the ASEAN nations and the people of Manipur, and appealed to the rallyists to come for the Sangai Festival which is held every year.
"I extend an open invitation to all participants to be a part of next year's edition of the colourful Manipur Sangai Festival at Imphal", he said.
The Chief Minister further pointed out that India is hosting the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit at New Delhi from 20 to 21 December and the summit is expected to adopt the 'ASEAN-India Vision Statement 2020' which would chart the future direction of ASEAN-India relations.
Describing the beautiful State of Manipur to the participants, Chief Minister said that the State is endowed with rich natural beauty and resources.
The notable ones include the Loktak Lake, rich heritage of the classical and folk dances, the colourful handlooms woven by the skillful women weavers of the state and cuisines similar to those in the ASEAN countries.
He also made it a point to inform the participants about the game of Polo, popularly known as "Sagol Kangjei" which was gifted by Manipur to the world.
The Chief Minister also mentioned that Manipur which is located along the route of Trans-Asian Highways 1 and 2 is India's Gateway to South East Asia.
This gateway connects the cities of East Asia, namely Tokyo and Bali to the cities in West Turkey and Iraq.
The State is also strategically located along the Trilateral Highway connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand through Moreh in Manipur via Mandalay in Myanmar to Mae Sot in Thailand.
Besides good road connectivity between Manipur and South East Asia, Imphal is expected to have rail connectivity by 2016 which will become the backbone of the trans-Asian Railway Network, the Chief Minister informed and added that "We expect Imphal to become the hub for international flights to and from ASEAN countries and thus open up new opportunities for cultural and sports exchanges, trade, tourism and business" .
Prior to reaching here, a reception function was also hosted in honour of the car rallyists at Moreh Trade Centre soon after they entered Moreh at 9 am today.
Minister for Commerce and Industries Govindas Konthoujam was present at the occasion.
The team was flagged off from Moreh by the Minister at around 9:30 am.
The rallyists comprising 116 participants from 11 ASEAN nations landed in Imphal today after crossing over eight of the ASEAN nations namely Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar and India.
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