KARACHI: Karachi celebrated the United Arab Emirates’ culture, cuisine and heritage this week at the World Culture Festival hosted by the Arts Council of Pakistan, where Sindh officials and Emirati diplomats said cultural exchanges were a way of deepening ties between the two nations.

The evening on Wednesday coincided with the UAE’s 54th National Day, known as Eid Al-Etihad and observed annually on Dec. 2, and featured Emirati dishes, music and traditional dance as part of the festival’s second edition.

Pakistan and the UAE have maintained close diplomatic and economic relations for decades, including extensive labor, trade and cultural links.

“The relationship between the UAE and Pakistan goes a long way. Every year, we collaborate with the Arts Council to further that [relationship],” Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Alrehmeithi, Consul General of the UAE in Karachi, told Arab News.

He added that the showcase included cultural artifacts, traditional Emirati sweets and live performances.

A UAE-based chef, Mainuddin, prepared around half a dozen dishes for attendees alongside a local team of assistants. The spread included balaleet, a sweet vermicelli dish served with egg, chebab, an Emirati version of soft pancakes, khobesa, and harees, a traditional preparation brought back “on popular demand,” according to Sindh Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah.

“Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto shared a very cordial relationship,” Shah said, noting similarities in cultural traditions and referring to the UAE’s founding president and Pakistan’s former prime minister.

“And you see that the culture of the two nations is similar. Pakistanis consider people of the UAE their own and they feel the same toward Pakistanis,” he added.

The minister said celebrations such as these offered a counter-narrative to conflict elsewhere:

“It is giving out a soft image of both the countries. Where you see war and conflict [across the world], the culture of Pakistan and the UAE sends out the message of love and peace.”

Guests also sampled regag, a thin Emirati flatbread served fresh with fillings such as eggs, cheese, honey and Nutella. Traditional stick dance performances and music closed the evening.

Warm food, music and a winter Karachi evening drew a large audience, reflecting ties between the two nations that continue beyond government diplomacy, into community, cuisine and shared celebration.

Arts Council President Mohammad Ahmed Shah said cultural partnerships help reinforce people-to-people links, noting the UAE’s role as a destination for more than a million Pakistani workers.

“Over a million Pakistanis work in the UAE and are a part of our economic prosperity,” he said.

“Pakistan has both economic as well as cultural interests in the UAE as Pakistanis make up a huge population of the UAE. Hence, these cultural exchanges are really important.”