Bhubaneswar, Nov. 13: Indonesian scholars and artists will interact with their Indian counterparts, including many Odias, in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for three days beginning tomorrow to revive the century-old-ties between the two countries.

They will discuss the prospects of future co-operation between the eastern regions of India and the Indonesian archipelago.

The event, touted as the Kalinga Indonesia Dialogue, is being organised by the Kalinga Lanka Foundation. The inaugural event will be held in Bhubaneswar. Ravenshaw University in Cuttack will host the conference for the next two days. Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ravenshaw University, and the state government have extended their support to the event. The ambassador of Indonesia to India, H.E. Rizalilndrakesuma, will be present at the event.

The event coincides with the beginning of the Bali yatra in Cuttack.

Briefing about the objective of the summit, chairman of the Kalinga Indonesia Dialogue and former Indian ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh said: "The basic objective is to revive the traditional, cultural and historical relations with Indonesia. We have a number of similarities with Indonesia on the cultural front. We will explore opportunities of reviving business tie-ups with the country."

Stating that Odisha, which in the past was known as Kalinga, had excellent trade ties with Indonesia, Mansingh said: "Indonesia is one of the leading countries in South East Asia. The total volume of business of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) countries is 2.8 trillion dollar, but India's share is not encouraging at this moment. Odisha has the potential to benefit from it."

On being asked how Odisha would benefit, the ambassador said: "Because of its location, the state has a natural advantage to get closer to Indonesia, which is emerging as a maritime hub. Odisha is also planning to set up a number of ports. This will help to boost trade."

Mansingh said: "Both Odisha and Indonesia are rich in minerals, particularly in coal and iron ore. The coal coming from Indonesia has little ash, while Odisha coal has high ash content. If we blend these two types of coal and supply it to power plants, they will be immensely benefited."

He further said Odisha could also explore business opportunities in the field of textiles.

"Ikkat textile of Indonesia has great similarities with the Sambalpuri textiles. Indonesia is a leading exporter in the world. We can do the same," he said.

Stating that Odisha is emerging as the education and IT hub, the former ambassador said: "We can export our IT talent as they are yet to improve their IT base."

The other field where India can benefit is that of travel and tourism. "The Bali Island attracts seven million tourists whereas 6.5 million tourists are visiting India. Because of presence of Buddhist monuments and its rich culture which has similarities with Odisha, the state can attract tourists from the south-east Asian countries," he said.

Former chief secretary of Odisha and the president of the Kalinga Lanka Foundation D.P. Bagchi said: "Once the programme is launched, more activities are likely to be take up to strengthen the relationship between Odisha and Indonesia."