Tourism and Culture Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Abdul Ghaffar A. Tambi said it was to promote local art and culture internationally and to

attract more tourists from that country to Malaysia.

"We want to expose to them what is available in Malaysia. We will try to garner as many tourists as possible throughout our programme there," he told

reporters after seeing a preview of the cultural performances at Istana Budaya.

A total of 40 staff will be engaged in cultural performances, heritage food sales, crafting demonstration and sale of craft products, promotional tour

packages to Malaysia and demonstrations of traditional games at the festival, he said.

In addition, the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (MHDC) will also hold a fashion show showcasing a collection of Malaysian batik and songket.

Ab Ghaffar said the organising of the festival was in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry via the Malaysian Embassy in Azerbaijan, Istana Budaya, the

National Heritage Department, MHDC and Tourism Malaysia.

(Bernama)