Days of people refusing to travel to Nagaland are gone, says US Ambassador

KOHIMA — United States of America Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, who was in Nagaland on a three-day visit, shared his experiences of the Hornbill Festival and expressed eagerness to support the dreams and aspirations of the Naga people.

Garcetti said during an interaction with journalists at Hotel Vivor, Kohima, on his first visit to Nagaland and the Northeast since becoming ambassador four months ago, that he fell in love with Nagaland and that the trip showed him the vibrancy of the culture of the people.

Garcetti was one of the diplomats attending the opening ceremony of the festival on December 1.

He said that he found the Hornbill festival ‘electrifying’ and ‘so well done’ and described it as the ‘gateway to understanding Naga culture, Nagaland’.

He stated that he is looking forward to returning to Nagaland, not only to attend the festival but also to see how the US can assist the Naga people in their dreams and aspirations regarding education, economic opportunity, cultural exchange, and sports.

Sharing his first encounter with the Nagas, he said it was when he worked with tribal communities in Myanmar as a young man and added that after becoming the ambassador, he made it a priority to come to the Northeastern states as many had said that the rest of the world ignored this region even though it’s an important part of India.

“I wanted to make sure that I didn’t see just a festival. I wanted to listen. I wanted to come and ask what you need and how America can help work with the Indian government and the state government to achieve that,” Garcetti said.

He added that the days of people refusing to travel to Nagaland are long gone; instead, everybody wants to come here now.

During his brief visit to Nagaland, the ambassador observed that the state is grappling with issues that the United States is grappling with, such as mental health, drug use, and high HIV positivity.