Hopefully, the Tuna Rendang Festival will attract tourists to come to Padang ..."Padang, West Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The Padang municipality will organize a Tuna Rendang Festival to highlight the Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) or Komodo Sail scheduled for April 13, 2016.
"The rendang festival will be unusual because it does not feature beef, but tuna fish," Head of the Padang Tourism and Cultural Office Medi Iswandi said here.
Some 100 stoves and 100 kg of tuna fish will be made available during the festival.
Chefs of foreign warships participating in the Komodo naval exercise will be involved in the rendang cooking activities to be held along Lake Cimpago, Padang coast.
"Hopefully, the Tuna Rendang Festival will attract tourists to come to Padang during the MNEK," he said.
Cultural and art performances will also be organized during the festival.
Traditional dances will be performed to entertain visitors, particularly to welcome President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
The international naval exercise will be held in Padang and Mentawai Islands waters from April 12 to 16.
A number of Indonesian war ships have arrived in Teluk Bayur seaport, West Sumatra, for the event.
The warships include KRI Oswald Siahaan, KRI Teuku Umar, Usman Harun, Dewaruci, Slamet Riyadi, Sutanto, Kerapu, Sultan Hasanuddin and Tombak, Commander of the Indonesian Navys Main Naval Base Command (Danlantamal) II, First Admiral Dindin Kurnadi said in a statement recently.
Indonesia sends 28 ships for the exercise, in which 22 foreign ships will participate. The foreign participants are expected to arrive in Padang between April 9 and April 11.
The Komodo 2016 agenda will include International Fleet Review (IFR) 2016, Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) 2016 and Western Pacific Naval Symposium in which 35 countries will participate.
West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno hoped that the Komodo 2016 event will help boost tourism in the province.
"The impacts are obvious, and more foreigners will come to know West Sumatra better, including its culture, culinary arts, natural scenery and its friendly people," he said.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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