European culture, food festival today

Islamabad: The European Union and its member states will organise a family-focused festival, EuroVillage, at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) here today (Saturday).

According to a spokesman for the EU, the event will give Pakistanis an opportunity to know about European culture, heritage, music, and food.

"After a gap of three years, the EU and the member states resume the EuroVillage tradition that offers a window into their rich culture and celebrates 'unity in diversity', a strong connection between EU and Pakistan. This year’s EuroVillage will be special as the European Union celebrates 60 years of diplomatic relations with Pakistan. The six decades of partnership in development, trade, and political engagement show how the EU and Pakistan are stronger together," he told 'The News'.

The spokesman said a major highlight of the event would be the EU-Pakistan Friendship Truck, which would be exhibited for the first time before setting out to tour the country to engage with Pakistanis across all provinces and to present what the EU–Pakistan relations were all about.

He said the EuroVillage would be held by the diplomatic missions of the European Union as well as of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden and would have information and activity booths for both adults and children with interactive games, selfie corners, food and an opportunity to meet the diplomatic team and learn about areas of partnership. Also, the event will feature live performances by European performers as well as Pakistani popular singers Asim Azhar and Shae Gill.

The spokesman said like the previous editions of EuroVillage, which attracted over 8,000 enthusiastic visitors from twin cities and beyond, the upcoming event was likely to be a huge success.

About the European Union in Pakistan, he said his organisation and Pakistan were bound together by a shared history.

"The partnership has progressed since 1962 in tandem with the European integration process. In 2019, the EU and Pakistan adopted a Strategic Engagement Plan with the common goal of building a strong partnership for peace and development rooted in shared values, principles and commitments. This plan facilitates cooperation on a wide range of issues, including dialogues on counter-terrorism, education, democracy, human rights, migration, climate change, energy, trade and economics, and culture," he said.

He said Pakistan was a major development partner of the EU with one of the largest programmes in Asia.