KARACHI/DUBAI: The three-day Pakistan Mango Festival kicked off in Dubai on Thursday to overwhelming response, officials said on Friday, in a first of its kind event organized by the Consulate General of Pakistan.
The Pakistani Consulate has invited diplomats, members of the business community, representatives of the chambers of commerce, importers and exporters to the festival to promote Pakistani mangoes in the Middle East and other gulf countries. The event, which was held at Palazzo Versace Dubai, featured varieties of food especially prepared using delectable Pakistani mangoes.
“This is the first time [we have organized such an event] and the response is very positive,” Ahmad Amjad Ali, Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai, who inaugurated the festival, told Arab News via phone on Friday. “As the festival kicked off everybody who came to know about it now wants to come. Some 19 varieties of mangoes are being displayed.”
“Many local Arabs who did not know about Pakistani mangoes are being introduced to the Pakistani varieties. Now they have come to know what the Pakistani mango is and they are appreciative,” Ali said.
The next destination of the king of fruits will be Saudi Arabia.
“Promotion of mangoes in Saudi Arabia is on next year’s promotion calendar,” said Muhammad Ashraf, Spokesman of Ministry of Commerce and CEO of the Pakistan Horticulture Development & Export Company (PHDEC).
Pakistan is expecting to export 100,000 metric tons of mangoes this fiscal year (FY20) as the country expects a “mango crop size of 1.8 million tons.”
This year PHDEC will also promote Pakistani mangoes in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the UAE and China, as well as citrus in China and Indonesia and dates in Turkey, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Pakistan exporters are confident that this promotional branding of the Pakistani mango will help them achieve their export targets.
“Such promotional activities help in the export of fruits from Pakistan,” said Waheed Ahmed, Patron-in-Chief of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable, Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA). “Through such activities exporters also get orders from importers of fruits.”
This year mango exports from Pakistan started from May 20, 2019, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Gulf Cooperation Council countries and far eastern countries, including China, being the major destinations of the fruit.
“Last year 75,000 tons of mango was exported from Pakistan; this year, the country is expected to earn $80 million by exporting 100,000 tons of mango during the current season,” PFVA’s Ahmed said, adding that markets in China and the United States would be the major focus of exports this year.
Famous commercial scale varieties of the Pakistani mango are Chaunsa, Sindhri, White Chaunsa, Dusehri and Anwar Ratool while many other varieties, including Langra, Saroli, Samar Bahisht, Fajri, Neelum, Alphanso and Almas, are also grown in the country.
“We have registered 10 commercially important varieties of mango while two are in process,” said Dr. Hamidullah Khan, a director at the Mango Research Institute in the city of Multan. “There are hundreds of varieties in the country and many are being developed.”
Rave reviews as Pakistan Mango Festival opens in Dubai
Rave reviews as Pakistan Mango Festival opens in Dubai
- Some 19 varieties of mango are being displayed at the first of its kind event
- The next destination of the king of fruits will be Saudi Arabia
Pakistan invites investors, innovators to back tech partnerships, announces national AI event
- Indus AI Week 2026 to run Feb. 9–15 as IT minister cites inclusive AI policy launched last year
- The week-long event will bring together relevant officials, startups, investors and universities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday invited foreign investors and technology innovators to engage with its emerging artificial intelligence ecosystem as the government announced a week-long national AI initiative aimed at accelerating adoption across the public and private sectors.
Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the government would host Indus AI Week 2026 from Feb. 9 to 15, building on Pakistan’s National Artificial Intelligence Policy introduced last year to promote responsible use of the technology.
The announcement comes as Pakistan seeks to position itself as a credible participant in the global AI economy, amid growing interest from governments in the Global South to harness AI for productivity, skills development and innovation while managing regulatory and ethical risks.
“With the introduction of Pakistan’s National AI Policy last year, we laid the foundation for responsible and inclusive AI development,” Khawaja said, according to an official statement circulated by her ministry. “Indus AI Week reflects our determination to take that work further by moving beyond dialogue and toward adoption.”
“We invite international partners, investors and innovators to engage with Pakistan’s growing AI landscape,” she added.
The initiative will be organized by the IT ministry through a public-private partnership and is designed as an open national platform bringing together policymakers, technology firms, startups, universities, students and the wider public.
The program will include a national technology showcase, startup and innovation sessions linking founders with investors, skills training and certification opportunities and public engagement activities aimed at translating AI policy into practical use cases.
The week will open with the Indus AI Summit at Islamabad’s Jinnah Convention Center on Feb. 9, followed by an innovation and learning arena at the Islamabad Sports Complex on Feb. 9-10, with universities, companies and public institutions across the country hosting parallel events through Feb. 15.
