At the World Hindu Economic Conference (WHEC) held in Los Angeles recently, Goa got an unexpected surprise. Tulsi Gabbard, a US Congresswoman mentioned that Goa and the state of Hawaii will soon have a formal sister-state relationship established.
“I am proud that we would soon be formalizing a recently established Sister State partnership between the State of Hawaii, my home State and the State of Goa. We would have the announcement soon,” Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who represents Hawaii in the US House of Representative, said in her address to the World Hindu Economic Forum in Los Angeles. (Source: NDTV)
“We look forward to having a contingent coming to Hawaii from Goa and sending a contingent from Hawaii to Goa to see what further opportunities there are to build more bridges between our two States and the two countries,” said Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker to be elected to the US Congress. (Source: NDTV)
Tulsi Gabbard’s visit to Goa
The plans for the move were announced as early as March of 2016. Gabbard had visited Goa in December 2014. She had met Governor of Goa Mridula Sinha, Defence Minister of India Manohar Parrikar, and Chief Minister of Goa Laxmikant Parsekar.
In a meeting held in the state, issues such as promotion of tourism, technology, trade, sport, pharmaceutical, yoga, ayurvedic and ancient Hawaiian Lomi were discussed. To interact with its Hawaiian counterpart, the Director of the Department of Art and Culture was appointed as a nodal officer and his department as the nodal department.
She made history in 2012 when she became the first Hindu woman elected to US Congress. She embraced Hinduism as a teenager, her mother of European descent is a practicing Hindu. While her father is of a Samoan and American descent.
Speaking on the development, CM Parsekar was quoted as saying “The sister-state programmes will develop a relationship between the two states and will help promote tourism and increase prospective opportunities for economic, social, cultural, educational and environmental exchanges.” (Source: ToI)
Hawaii is a tropical state in the U.S. It is a popular holiday destination receiving scores of tourists every year.
