National Day of Brazil celebrated

When Ambassador Claudio Lins, his wife Anna, and the embassy staff members welcomed guests to Brazil’s 194th national day on September 28, it was set to be a festive and different event. The hall at Serena Hotel was decorated with flags and flowers in the national colour. Musicians were on the stage and so were ‘capoeira’ acrobatic dancers.

“There is always music and dance when Brazilians celebrate,” said the ambassador.

Prominent industrialist and entrepreneur Mian Mohammad Mansha, the CEO of the Nishat Group, was the chief guest. That underlined the importance Brazil and Pakistan give to increased trade between the two countries, each with about 200 million people.

But there is also potential for further cooperation in education and culture. Already, the embassy offers courses in the Portuguese language.

There are Brazilian consulates in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, and the Islamabad embassy is also accredited to Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

“It was a festive evening with the best food I have ever tasted at a reception,” said a Pakistani woman. “The fish was fantastic,” she added. The ambassador’s wife said they had planned the menu in advance with the hotel’s and their own chefs.

Nepal’s Constitution Day observed

Ambassador Sewa Lamsal Adhikari had barely arrived in Islamabad when the Constitution Day and National Day of Nepal came up and she presented her credentials to the President of Pakistan at a formal event along with two other new envoys - the high commissioner of Canada and the envoy of Bhutan who is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In her speech, Ambassador Adhikari said Nepal had a new constitution, and that this was the first time that the national day was celebrated. She also said women had been given more rights than ever before and would be able to take part in public life in a new way. She also thanked Pakistan for its generous assistance after Nepal’s earthquake in 2015.

“I am glad that the new ambassador from Nepal is a woman,” said a female foreign diplomat. “I think there are now nine women among the foreign envoys to Pakistan,” she added.

Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Minister for Ports and Shipping, was the chief guest at the event .

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2016