The Ministry of Culture has been making efforts to disseminate Indian art and culture to promote India’s soft power and developing cultural relations between India and other countries. India’s relationships with different countries across the world have been marked by mutual respect and understanding and have strengthened over the years through various cultural exchanges. The cultural collaborations and dialogue serve as building blocks of peaceful coexistence by fostering mutual respect, diversity and inclusion. The cultural cooperation is promoted through:

1. Negotiating and signing of bilateral Cultural Agreements (CA)/Cultural Exchange programs (CEP).
2. Cultural cooperation on multilateral platforms like BRICS, SCO, G20, BIMSTEC, SAARC, ASEAN etc.
3. Implementation of Global Engagement Scheme which has two components (i) to organize Festival of India abroad and (ii) to provide Grants-in-aid to Indo-Foreign Friendship Cultural Societies.

Ministry of Culture has CEPs with 85 countries. In addition, the CEPs with 17 countries are under renewal and fresh CEPs have been initiated with 88 countries.

This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

***

BY/SKT

(Release ID: 2083754) Visitor Counter : 325