ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Foreign Women’s Association (IFWA) organized a food festival in the Pakistani capital on Sunday featuring cuisines from at least 28 countries and raising over Rs.2.5 million ($8,929) to support education and health care initiatives for poor Pakistani women and children.

The festival, organized for the third consecutive year, was a joint project of IFWA and Serena Hotels, with 80 diplomatic missions participating. IFWA is a non-political, non-profit organization established in 1995 by the wives of ambassadors posted in Islamabad, with the aim of supporting underprivileged and disadvantaged Pakistani women and children. 

Dianne Hawkins, IFWA president and the wife of the Australian High Commissioner, told Arab News around Rs2.5 million had been raised at Sunday’s event. 

“It is our major fundraising event of the year to support the charities that IFWA supports here [in Pakistan], which are mostly focused on benefiting vulnerable communities of Pakistani society, especially women and children,” Hawkins said, adding that most of the charities IFWA supported were in the education and health sectors.

Aziz Bolani, the CEO Serena Hotels, said that along with supporting underprivileged communities, the event also helped promote international cuisines and cultures through food stalls that represented countries from all around the world.

“There are real needs in Pakistan, and this is a form of diplomacy, a soft approach that brings people together,” he told Arab News.

Among the most popular stalls were those set up by the embassies of Morocco and Egypt. 

“Today, we are serving Moroccan chicken, Moroccan salads, and one of the main traditional dishes of Morocco, that is typically served every Friday, couscous with vegetables,” Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Karmoune told Arab News. 

Homemade Moroccan breads and sweets as well as traditional tea was also available. 

Georg Steiner, the ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan, said he hoped the festival would introduce more Pakistanis to Swiss food.

“We brought along some Swiss food like Rösti [potato dish], Zürich style veal, and also some excellent cakes,” he told Arab News.

He said he had tasted food at many stalls and his favorites were those serving Vietnamese, Czech, and Pakistani dishes. 

“I think Pakistani food is always wonderful, be it biryani or something else,” the Swiss envoy added.