PIA writer participates in ASEAN-India media exchange program

By Rizalie A. Calibo

DUMAGUETE CITY, Feb. 28 (PIA) -- A writer for the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) based in Dumaguete City was one of the 20 journalists from countries under the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) who visited India for a week.

Rachelle Nessia, information officer 2 and regional news editor of PIA here, was one of two journalists who represented the Philippines during the ASEAN-India Media Exchange Program this year from Feb. 11 to 17, 2012.

Also from the Philippines was Lily Ramos, senior news editor of the Philippine News Agency based in Manila.

The media exchange program was recently institutionalized to promote better understanding of ASEAN-India relations while improving connectivity between India and its Asian neighbors.

The journalists kicked-off their seven-day visit with a tour of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely 363-year old Taj Mahal and its sister monument, Agra Fort, in Agra City on Feb. 12, 2012.

They also attended the Delhi Dialogue IV Summit from Feb. 13 to 14, 2012 in New Delhi, India after paying a courtesy call on India’s External Affairs Minister Shri Khrishna.

During his interaction with the ASEAN reporters, Khrishna said the Indian media is also keenly looking forward to visiting the ASEAN countries.

After the courtesy call, the ASEAN journalists met with some of their Indian counterparts during a lunch interaction.

On Feb. 15, the journalists flew to Bangalore, India where they listened to briefings from key officials of the Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Infosys and Biocon.

IIS is the leading and oldest university in India where the country’s brightest are educated while Infosys is a global consulting and IT services company that is purely Indian-owned.

The journalists also stopped by the laboratories of Biocon, a global biopharmaceutical company, where they had a brief interaction with its founder, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

The visiting reporters also toured the assembly hangar area of state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) where they design, develop, manufacture and overhaul India’s fighter and training fleets as well as doors for Airbus 320 planes.

The Ministry of External Affairs sponsored this year’s media exchange visit to coincide with the Delhi Dialogue IV in partnership with the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICC), Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS), Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and SAEA Research Group.

The 20 visiting journalists are from Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, LAO PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Nessia finished her Bachelor’s of Mass Communication degree from Negros Oriental State University in 1997. She is also the associate editor of Dumaguete Star Informer. (rmn/RAC/PIA Siquijor)