Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the opening ceremony of Myanmar Ethnics Culture Festival in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 1, 2020. An ethnics culture festival kicked off in Yangon on Saturday, with the participation of varieties of ethnic groups from across Myanmar. (Xinhua/U Aung)

 
An ethnics culture festival kicked off in Yangon on Saturday, with the participation of varieties of ethnic groups from across Myanmar.

This year's festival was themed Myanmar Ethnics Culture Fest, which is the second time of the kind, is jointly organized by the Myanmar Ethnic Entrepreneurs' Association and Kayah State Ethnic Entrepreneurs' Association.

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi told the opening ceremony that holding such festival which gathers all colorful ethnic groups could support the development of the ethnic nationals.

Suu Kyi also urged the ethnic nationals to achieve peace by lending a helping hand to and sharing mutual respect and love with each other.

"Diversity of culture, tradition and cuisines of different ethnic groups residing across Myanmar could attract not only locals but also foreign tourists," said Vice President Henry Van Thio, calling for promotion of services including tourism and further efforts to penetrate international market with locally produced value-added products.

The culture festival could strengthen cross-understanding of different cultures and traditions among ethnic groups, leading towards building democratic federal union, said Union Minister Nai Thet Lwin of Ethnic Affairs.

Scheduled to last until Friday, the seven-day festival features exhibits showcasing cultural tradition of ethnic nationals and their products as well as ethnic cuisine, their traditional dances showcasing event and a beauty pageant for ethnic nationals, respectively.

Symbolizing the friendship and unity of ethnic people, the festival aims to promote the development of domestic and international tourism, community-based tourism in ethnic areas by introducing the livelihood of ethnic nationals to both locals and foreigners.