Denmark-Pakistan cooperation discussed

Chargé d’Affaires Helle Nielsen welcomed hundreds of guests to the Danish embassy to discuss her country’s cooperation with Pakistan. “We cooperate in many fields,” she said, underlining that private sector cooperation is growing, including in energy fields such as wind and solar energy. The event was titled ‘Innovative Denmark’.

A diplomat explained that traditional bilateral development aid is being reduced, and will be phased out in a year’s time, but humanitarian aid will still be provided mainly in emergency situations.

The Danish Red Cross had a stand at the event, as did Khwendo Kor – an NGO supported by Denmark – which displayed handicrafts from Peshawar and the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas.

A guest said: “I am glad to get a glimpse of Kwendo Kor’s important work.” She added that he had learnt that the NGO’s name is Pashto for ‘sister’s home’.

The head of Khwendo Kor, Maryam Bibi, was all smiles when she introduced Shoaib Sultan Khan of the Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN) to visitors at her stall.

“They are both NGO legends, and diplomats must feel honoured to meet them,” said the guest.

When the evening cooled and a breeze picked up, food stalls on the embassy’s terrace opened.

Canapés with Danish dark brown bread and cheese were very popular, along with Danish meatballs called frikadeller.

Austrian art exhibited at Comsats university

Austrian ambassador Brigitta Blaha opened an art exhibition at the Comsats Institute of Information Technology, as part of Austria’s effort to share its abundance of high quality art and music.

The current exhibition emphasises intercultural understanding, and has travelled from Vienna to Tehran, then to Lahore and has landed in Islamabad.

Ms Blaha explained that: “The 13 Austrian artists invited to participate in the exhibition were asked to create works based on their personal understanding of identity.”

“It is important to explore what happens to us when we travel and live in another country, or when many newcomers come to live in our traditional communities,” she said.

The director of Comsats’ Islamabad campus, Prof Dr Raheel Qamar said he was pleased to host the exhibition at the university’s art gallery.

A guest at the event said: “I was glad to see that a large number of ambassadors and art lovers had taken time off to come to attend an afternoon at Comsats.”

“It also forms part of the European Union’s efforts to encourage their member countries’ envoys to visit universities in Pakistan, something that has been emphasized this year,” said a diplomat, who added that it is important that events take place not only at embassies and hotels, but also at local institutions.

“In spite of it being examination time, I hope that many students and teachers find time to appreciate the exhibition and consider issues related to international exchange and coexistence,” said another guest.

— Text and photo by Atle Hetland & Shahbaz Chaudary

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2016