Europe Day marked

EU Ambassador Stefano Gatto, centre, with European ambassadors and Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch marking Europe Day.

“We must draw lessons from the cooperation between European countries,” said Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch. He was invited as the chief guest at Europe Day, celebrated belatedly because of the tragic helicopter accident in Gilgit last month.

The Europe Day is marked on May 9 annually, commemorating the historical declaration presented by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman in 1950, leading to the establishment of EU’s precursor organisation. This organisation initially emphasised close cooperation between France and Germany in the fields of steel and coal.

On May 5, 1949, the Council of Europe was established to foster post-war cooperation in Europe, and today it works for observance of human rights, development of democracy and the rule of law. EU, which began as an organisation for economic and trade cooperation, has become more political, working for broader integration in Europe.

“The Europe Day is celebrated to mark peace and unity in Europe,” said Ambassador Stefano Gatto, acting head of the EU delegation to Pakistan.

He said there is growing trade between Pakistan and EU, and he drew attention to EU’s large development aid programme with Pakistan.

Italy, Japan celebrate

Italian Ambassador Adriano Chiodi Cianfarani, centre, with the Japanese envoy Hiroshi Inomata and Midori Inomata.

Italy celebrated its National Day last week. In his speech, Italian Ambassador Adriano Chiodi Cianfarani said that Italy and Pakistan had established diplomatic relations in 1948 and trade and other cooperation had grown steadily since that time. In 1946, Italy held a referendum to decide on its new government, following the end of World War II, and the democratic republic was born.

Italy’s development aid programme in Pakistan plays an important role with projects in archaeology, literature, agriculture and other fields. There are about 150,000 Pakistanis working in Italy. The chief guest was Federal Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, who also underlined the importance of the cooperation between the two countries.

A few days later, it was Japan’s turn to celebrate its Self Defence Forces Day. The chief guest was Lt-Gen Nazir Ahmed Butt, and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was among many prominent guests. Ambassador Hiroshi Inomata said Japan had marked the Self defence day every year since it was instated in 1954, two years after Japan gained sovereignty after WWII and joined the international community.

Japan and Pakistan are prone to earthquakes and the two countries will strengthen their cooperation in disaster prevention and management, Inomata said.

At both the Italian and Japanese events, guests enjoyed delicacies which included special pastas and Sushi dishes.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2015

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