WASHINGTON: At the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC, more than 200 distinguished guests attended the Mango Festival and the annual BBQ reception.
Congressman Michael McCaul from the US, Senator Irfan Siddiqui from Pakistan, and the Chairman House Foreign Affairs Committee were the guests of honor at the event hosted by Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US.
According to a press release from the Pakistani embassy, the State Representative in Connecticut State House, Maryam Khan, Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Dilawar Syed, diplomats, ambassadors, members of the think-tank community, Congressional staff, diaspora community leaders, and media have participated in the event.
Shakeela Khalid Luqman, a Member National Assembly of Pakistan, and Senator Hidayatullah attended the reception.
Speaking to the group in Urdu, Pakistan’s official language, Senator Irfan Siddiqui emphasized the qualities of the mango, the king of fruits. He praised Ambassador Khan for his “Mango diplomacy,” which he claimed would help bring the two nations closer together.
Appetite expressed for Pakistani cuisine
Congressman MaCaul praised the ambassador for inviting him to the event, saying that it allowed him to taste excellent mangoes and Pakistani cuisine. Congressman McCaul added that Texas intended to carry on the legacy of having close ties to Pakistan. He claimed that Pakistan and the United States have significant security agreements. Yet the two nations would forge stronger ties through commerce and financial investments in Pakistan.
He claimed that Pakistan was the world’s fourth-largest producer of high-quality mangoes, with Anwar Ratol, Langra, Sindhri, and Dussheri being some of the most well-known varieties. The ambassador stated that Pakistan had requested the USA to set up a pre-inspection facility at the Karachi Port as part of trade negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), allowing the country to export mangoes to various parts of the United States in more significant quantities.
He said that Dilawar Syed, the Deputy Administrator of the US Small Business Administration (SBA), was participating in the procedure and expressed his desire for the concerned US authorities to accelerate the procedure. Along with other US officials, Congressman McCaul visited many booths displaying various goods created by Pakistani mangoes.
APP—
