Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, held a conversation with actor Ranveer Singh on the third day of his visit to Dubai. The event was held at the India Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020, on the topic of “The Global Reach of Indian Media and Entertainment Industry”.
The Union Minister said that the Indian people residing in Dubai are the real brand ambassadors of India. He further said that the nation is celebrating 75 years of India’s independence and the celebrations are being held not just in India but even abroad.
The India Pavilion has been a huge crowd puller right from the start and till now has brought in more than 1.7 million visitors.
Further, recognizing the contribution of movies in India’s soft power projection, the Union Minister said that India is a land of storytelling and the film industry has left a great impression on people of foreign nations who recognize India for its movies.
Anurag Thakur said that his objective is to make the nation the content sub-continent of the world. This can give rise to millions of jobs in India, helping the nation alongside, in creating content for the entire world. The Minister acknowledged actor Ranveer Singh as the talent powerhouse in the Indian film industry landscape and recalled his acting from various movies.
Later on, actor Ranveer Singh said that the Indian content is on the verge of making its presence felt on the global stage. Indian entertainment will very soon be exploding globally, he further added. The stories of the Indian film industry reverberate with people and cut across cultural boundaries. He said that the Indians living abroad connect with India through films.
Earlier, Union Minister Anurag Thakur held discussion with the CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Mr Issam Kazim, on varied plan of actions undertaken by Dubai with respect to the tourism sector to make it a favoured tourism destination for the entire World.
Anurag Thakur, during the meeting complimented Dubai for organising the Expo which has been a huge success despite the ongoing pandemic situation. Highlighting the importance of Dubai on tourism map of the world, the Minster said that Indians prefer to come to Dubai over western cities such as London and the trend has kept up even during the pandemic times.
Issam Kazim said that Dubai’s has been successful because of the unhesitating leadership that has worked with a focused aim to make Dubai a hub for vacationers. He then detailed on the plan of action implemented by the Dubai Authority during Covid, when the city was shut down in March 2020.
He said that the authorities adopted a totally new approach to curb the spread of Covid infection and ensured that the restrictions and protocols are followed completely. He further highlighted that vaccinations and PCR tests for Covid-19 were made compulsory for all the travelers, while stating that Dubai was the first city to open up for tourists.
Issam Kazim also brought up that Dubai is aiming to achieve the 25 million tourists target by the year 2025 and thus becoming the most visited city in the world. The city is heavily focusing on particulars such as marketing Dubai so that people can feel comfortable to visit, making it much easier to set up businesses, promotion of Dubai as the top most city to reside in.
He further updated that Dubai is promoting Foreign Direct Investment, attracting tech companies, improvement in connectivity with the help of Emirate airlines and further development of the infrastructure. He went on to mention that Dubai is diligently looking at the crypto currency space, although it is very high-risk and unregulated as of now.
Kazim highlighted that just like Dubai, India too has great prospects in the tourism space. India can put to use the distinctive aspects of key cities and States and focus on their strengths. Moreover, the Indian IT talent benefits the global industries that can be further promoted as a strength.
The Union Minister Anurag Thakur extended a friendly invitation to Kazim to come to India so that they can further discuss collaboration opportunities in tourism, media and entertainment sector.
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