KOCHI:
The fourth edition of Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF 2020), scheduled to be held from May 16 to 20, at the Adlux International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Angamaly, will be more unique this time than its earlier editions in terms of participation of international business, industry, academic and diplomatic participants across continents.
A mega initiative of this stature on Ayurveda for the first time in India, the 4th edition of GAF organized by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA), and supported by Central government, and the State government of Kerala, will have long-lasting influence, impact and many advantages for the future prospects of Ayurveda in India in terms of manufacturing, exports and employment generation, with special emphasis to Kerala.
Speaking at a Press Conference organised in Kochi, V Muraleedharan, Chairman of the 4th Global Ayurveda Festival and Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India, said that the Global Ayurveda Festival will have several more entities from various ministries like Ayush, Commerce and Industry, MSME, Tourism, External Affairs etc., which will take the event to a new level.” The Festival looks towards putting in place an International Cooperation Conclave so as to tap the potential of the global market place, research initiatives and medical tourism opportunities, he said.
GAF 2020, encouraged by various Central government departments and also the Kerala State Government, will be organised on a global scale, bringing together the efforts of all committed members from various countries to place Ayurveda as a global system of medicine. The stakeholders from many countries will share their experiences, needs and ideas for collaborations as they look at Ayurveda as something worthy to depend upon as an effective system of medicine. The GAF 2020 will have three major components – an International Seminar, a Global Ayurveda Exhibition and an International Cooperation Conclave. Serious efforts will be initiated for the integration of Indian Ayurveda with the ASEAN, African and European counterparts in the Festival.
Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Invest India, the Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, are already engaged in inviting investment/ business propositions from countries abroad to potential Ayurveda manufacturers and other stakeholders in Kerala and India. A curtain-raiser round table of diplomats from various countries, comprising Ambassadors and Consular Generals, will be held at New Delhi in March 2020, to outline a guide map for attracting the global Ayurveda community to the Global Ayurveda Festival.
Involvement of Research & Information System for (RIS) Developing Countries, an autonomous think tank under the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India will bring in meaningful deliberations on exploring markets in many countries for Ayurveda products. The Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL), Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is also attending the Festival, exploring more avenues for exports of Ayurveda products and services.
Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI), Ayurveda Hospital Management Association, Ayurveda Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India, Ayurveda Drugs Manufacturers Association are some of the other partners of the event. The Global Ayurveda Festival 2020 will witness presence of the best among the international Ayurveda fraternity, who would converge in Angamaly to learn, experience, collaborate, progress and expand. GAF 202 is being lined up as an event that would meet the needs of all – from students to scientists, from practitioners to policy makers and from educationalists to entrepreneurs. Ayurveda Exhibition of the Festival will have exhibits like drugs, technologies, products and services in medical tourism, medicinal plants, research etc.
Planned as a truly global festival, GAF 2020 will be a platform to coordinate the efforts of all committed members from various countries to place Ayurveda as a global system of medicine. The stakeholders from many countries will share their experiences, needs and ideas for collaborations as they look at Ayurveda as something worth depending upon. The mega event will be a platform for global players, policy makers, practitioners and preachers to meet and transcend to the next level, in business, international facilitations, and universal health care.