Mango festival marks 60 years of Kuwait-Pakistan ties
By Ghadeer Ghloum
KUWAIT: The Pakistani Embassy in Kuwait held a mango festival in Souq Mubarakiya on Sunday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Kuwait. The festival was held in the presence of Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Pakistani Ambassador Malik Muhammad Farooq, British Ambassador Belinda Lewis, Head of UN Habitat in Kuwait Dr Ameerah Al-Hassan, WHO Representative in Kuwait Dr Assad Hafeez and other diplomats and attendees.
Farooq expressed to Kuwait Times his gratitude for earning the opportunity to come and serve as an ambassador of his country to Kuwait. He said his job and role is to bring the two nations together. Therefore, different events are planned to celebrate Pakistan and Kuwait’s 60th anniversary, and one of these events is the Mango Festival, which introduces over 500 different varieties of Pakistani mangoes. Farooq said the mango season starts in April and continues until the end of May or mid-June, when mangoes reach their peak.
“Mangoes are now at the end of the season, with 37 varieties on display at this event. The best mango is what we call ‘Chaunsa’. We brought the Chaunsa mango to let our Kuwaiti friends taste it, because this mango is different in two ways — the first is the aroma, and then of course the taste. It is sweet to the extent that you feel it might not be natural sweetness.
We call it the king of mangoes, and it only comes for a very short period of time,” the ambassador said. Farooq thanked his Kuwaiti friends and the Pakistani community who are very active in this festival, especially UN Habitat, Kuwait Volunteering Center and other collaborators who made this event happen. “My main purpose is to bring the countries together and to increase trade between them,” he concluded.
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