KARACHI: German Unity Day was celebrated at the German Consulate on Friday evening. The theme of the event was ‘movies’.

Addressing a large number of guests on the occasion, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr Rudiger Lotz said as in the first year in Karachi as CG, he didn’t know many people. Now, after more than two years, and celebrating Unity Day for the third time, he finds it wonderful to welcome all the friends and to see people feel at home due to the hospitality of the people of Sindh and Balochistan.

“We [Germany and Pakistan] have very close relations for more than seven decades. We have wonderful cultural relations. We see that the number of people willing to learn the German language at the Goethe Institute increasing. We also see the number of people who want to travel to Germany increasing all the time, sometimes more than we can handle, but we are delighted that the interest is that big. And of course we have very close business relations… I think there’s room for more and that requires some stability.”

German mission celebrates Unity day

The envoy said the main theme of the evening was movies. “You might have wondered why that is. The honest answer is, there’s not an obvious answer to that. I think one reason is that at the consulate we all like movies. Beyond that it is a good idea to highlight that the movie industries of both Pakistan and Germany are important.”

Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary-Home Iqbal Memon said the relationship between the two countries is cordial and both respect each other.

“Pak-Germany relations go very deep. Germany has always lent support in the economic development of Pakistan. It has always supported in the security [matters] of our country as well… We have been seeing some security challenges in Sindh. We appreciate and look forward to your continued support,” he added.

After the speeches, a cake was cut by the guests. This was followed by a brief talk on German films after which more than a dozen Pakistani actors, including Mansha Pasha, Faysal Qureshi and Junaid Khan appeared on stage and addressed the audience.

They talked about possible Pak-German collaboration. They lauded some of the German programmes, too, which they get to see on streaming websites.

Sindh’s Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon also attended the event, where fireworks were also set off to round off the celebrations.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024