ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Social Center Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hosted a mango festival, celebrating the most beloved fruit produced in the South Asian country, according to a statement released by the community organization on Wednesday.
Established in the 1980s, the center serves as a vital hub for the Pakistani community in Sharjah, promoting cultural, educational and social welfare activities.
It periodically organizes festivals and events to support greater integration within the diaspora community.
“The Pakistan Social Center Sharjah, in collaboration with the Pakistani community, hosted its 7th Annual Mango Festival, a celebration of Pakistan’s national fruit,” the statement said. “The event aimed to promote Pakistani produce globally and foster community spirit among expatriates.”
The festival displayed more than 25 varieties of mangoes produced in Pakistan.
Addressing the occasion, the center’s president, Khalid Hussain Chaudhry, highlighted the importance of increasing mango exports and educating younger generations about different varieties of the fruit.
“This year’s Mango Mela [festival] was our most successful yet,” he added.
The event attracted a large number of Pakistani expatriates and other residents of Sharjah, demonstrating the popularity of Pakistani mangoes in the UAE.
Pakistani community hosts mango festival in Sharjah to celebrate beloved South Asian fruit
https://arab.news/9qrxz
Pakistani community hosts mango festival in Sharjah to celebrate beloved South Asian fruit
- The 7th Annual Mango Festival displayed more than 25 varieties of the fruit produced in Pakistan
- The event attracted a large number of Pakistani expatriates along with other residents of Sharjah
Rating firm S&P says it won’t rush Iran war downgrades, sees risks for countries like Pakistan
- Agency says it is monitoring indebted energy importers as higher oil prices strain finances
- Gulf economies seen better placed to weather shock, though Bahrain flagged as vulnerable
LONDON: S&P Global said it would not make any knee-jerk sovereign rating cuts following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, but warned on Thursday that soaring oil and gas prices were putting a number of already cash-strapped countries at risk.
The firm’s top analysts said in a webinar that the conflict, which has involved US and Israeli strikes against Iran and Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, was now moving from a low- to moderate-risk scenario.
Most Gulf countries had enough fiscal buffers, however, to weather the crisis for a while, with more lowly rated Bahrain the only clear exception.
Qatar’s banking sector could also struggle if there were significant deposit outflows in reaction to the conflict, although there was no evidence of such strains at the moment, they said.
“We don’t want to jump the gun and just say things are bad,” S&P’s head global sovereign analyst, Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, said.
The longer the crisis was prolonged, though, “the more difficult it is going to be,” he added.
Sifon-Arevalo said Asia was the second-most exposed region, due to many of its countries being significant Gulf oil and gas importers.
India, Thailand and Indonesia have relatively lower reserves of oil, while the region also had already heavily indebted countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka whose finances would be further hurt by rising energy prices.
“We are closely monitoring these (countries) to see how the credit stories evolve,” Sifon-Arevalo said.
