ISLAMABAD: Stalls set up by embassies of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia dominated a charity event held by the Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association (PFOWA) on Sunday, with diplomats’ families serving up cultural performances, costumes, music and art displays and food delicacies from around the world.
Samina Alvi, the wife of President Dr. Arif Alvi, inaugurated the bazaar held on the lawns of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday, where families of diplomats set up stalls showcasing the diversity of their respective countries and raised funds for low-income staffers at MoFA.
The embassy of Saudi Arabia set up a traditional bedouin tent at the bazaar and served dates and gahwa, a traditional Arabic coffee.
“We want to show Pakistani people the original culture of our ancestors,” Abdulelaah Ali Alsaeed, a Saudi embassy official told Arab News. “We welcome visitors in the tent and serve them dates and gahwa.”
The ambassador of Kuwait to Pakistan Nassar Abdulrahman J. Almutairi applauded the theme of the charity bazar and said: “We are proud of becoming part of this noble reason. We are happy to show some Kuwaiti dishes which are quite similar to Pakistani cuisine.”
“We are trying to show our culture to Pakistan as well as the international community through this event,” Almutairi told Arab News.
“It’s a chance for us to showcase our arts, handicrafts, our culture, dances and music and at the same time get closer to Pakistani community,” Ghada Ahmed Yacoub, the wife of the Egyptian ambassador, told Arab News.
Ambassador of Jordan, Ibrahim Almadani, said the event showed how Pakistan was opening its door to diverse cultures. “Today you can see the whole globe at this very tiny place,” he said.
Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul, Ambassador of Turkey to Pakistan, told Arab News that the Turkish stall was the biggest at the event and showed the strength of Turkey’s bilateral relations with Pakistan: “We are here for a good cause and our mission is very proud to be here. We are very happy to contribute to this charity event and will contribute as much as possible.”
Arabs dominate Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association charity event
Arabs dominate Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association charity event
- Bazaar aimed to raise funds for families of low-income staffers of the Pakistani ministry of foreign affairs
- Embassies from Middle Eastern countries served up cultural performances, costumes, music and art displays and food
Pakistan offers Turkmenistan its Arabian Sea ports for wider access to ‘South Asia and beyond’
- PM Sharif meets Turkmen president in Ashgabat, calls for deeper trade and energy cooperation
- Islamabad cites Karachi and Gwadar as key to boosting regional connectivity, including TAPI links
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday urged Turkmenistan to expand trade and connectivity through Karachi and Gwadar, saying its Arabian Sea ports offer Turkmen businesses and exporters a direct route to South Asian and global markets, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said after high-level talks in Ashgabat.
Pakistan and Turkmenistan have long discussed regional transport corridors and energy cooperation, including the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline, a proposed multibillion-dollar project that would carry Turkmen natural gas south through Afghanistan into Pakistan and India. Islamabad has also pushed to link the landlocked Central Asian states to the sea by offering transit access through its deep-water ports, which sit at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.
On Thursday, Pakistan's Sharif met Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan, in Ashgabat as both countries look to revive momentum in bilateral engagement after years of regional instability. Pakistan has supported Turkmen neutrality policies at the United Nations, while Ashgabat has backed Pakistan during crises, including helping evacuate Pakistani nationals caught in Iran during the Iran–Israel conflict earlier this year.
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to enhance connectivity with Turkmenistan through land and sea routes and said that Karachi and Gwadar ports were ideally located to be utilized by the Turkmen side to enhance their outreach to South Asia and beyond,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sharif reiterated his intention to deepen trade and economic ties with Turkmenistan, saying enhanced transport links and energy cooperation could anchor long-term regional integration. He invited President Berdimuhamedow and Turkmenistan’s national leader, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, on official visits to Pakistan next year.
Sharif is on a two-day visit to Turkmenistan for the International Forum on Peace and Trust, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Energy Minister Awais Leghari, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and senior officials.
Turkmenistan’s president thanked Sharif for attending the UN-backed peace forum and said Ashgabat was keen to expand cooperation across multiple sectors, according to the statement.
