A two-day festival of African culture opened at the Kamani Auditorium in the capital Monday with music and dance performances by troupes from Zambia, the Seychelles and Ghana.

The festival has been brought to India by the Indian Council For Cultural Relations in collaboration with the governments of the participating countries.

The six countries featuring in the festival are Zambia, the Seychelles, Ghana, Senegal, Sudan and Mali. Troupes from the latter three countries will perform on Tuesday.

The festival, which aims to strengthen cultural cooperation between the African continent and India is an effort by this country to partner and support the continent in its resurgence through mutual understanding, ICCR director general Suresh Goel said.

Apart from performing in the capital, the troupes will perform in Jammu, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Haridwar.