BEIJING/MELBOURNE (TIP): Indians across the globe on August 15 donned patriotic colours as they celebrated the country’s 67th Independence Day, unfurling the national flag and organising cultural events to mark the occasion. India‘s ambassador to China S Jaishankar hoisted the tri-colour at the embassy premises in Beijing to celebrate the Independence Day.

A large gathering of Indian expatriates working in Beijing attended the ceremony. Jaishankar read out President Pranab Mukharjee’s national address and later hosted a reception on the occasion. The national tricolour also fluttered proudly across southeast Asia, as Indians and friends of India thronged to witness the unfurling of the flag by Indian envoys in the region to mark India’s 67th Independence Day. In Bangkok, India’s ambassador to Thailand Anil Wadhwa unfurled the flag and read out the President’s speech.

School children sang patriotic songs while 14 dancers from Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district performed the Snow Lion dance much to the delight of hundreds of Indians present at the Embassy. The tricolour was also unfurled by Indian envoys in neighbouring Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. In Tokyo, India’s ambassador to Japan Deepa Wadhwa unfurled the national flag. About 300 Indians and friends of India attended the function. Patriotic songs were sung by school children from two Indian schools in Tokyo.

In Singapore, India’s high commissioner Vijay Thakur Singh led more than 500-strong Indian community in celebrating the Independence Day. Singh read out the President’s message which was followed by three hours of cultural performances and singing of patriotic songs. Students from Indian schools in Singapore also performed during the cultural events. Singh hosted a morning reception for the Indian community and businessmen in Singapore.

In Australia, Indian diaspora celebrated the 67th Independence Day by organising flag hoisting ceremonies across the country followed by gala dinners and events. Speaking on the occasion, India’s high commissioner to Australia Biren Nanda extended greetings to Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin in the country. He said India’s relations with Australia have grown from strength to strength since the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries in 2009. “Our bilateral trade has reached $20 billion. There has been a very significant growth in two-way investment.

Indian companies have invested significantly in the resources sector and have propelled our economic relationship to the strategic level,” he said. Nanda further took note of Indian companies which have established joint ventures in Australia in the manufacturing sector in areas like auto components, aircraft manufacture, the manufacture of tractors and refining of vegetable oils. “The Free Trade Agreement that we are now negotiating will diversify and deepen our economic engagement,” Nanda said.

Indian government is organising Regional Pravasi Diwas this year in Sydney which is expected to be attended by over 1000 participants across the region. In the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, consul general K Nagaraj Naidu hoisted the tricolour and read the President’s address to the nation at the Indian Consulate.