Zubair Qureshi
The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Islamabad for the second year in a row organized on Saturday, a joyous event titled “Family Gala: Fun Games and Sports” to celebrate the strong bonds between the Indonesian embassy and its Pakistani friends from different walk of lives.
This year, however, the ‘friends of Indonesia’ had come in greater number than the last year, owing perhaps to the fact that the Indonesian ambassador Adam Tugio is leaving the country shortly after completing his term. He is one of the most popular diplomats Pakistan has ever had and during three years of his stay spent very active, productive and positive days engaging almost all sectors of the Pakistani society, from students to clergy, civil society to media, lawyers and above all business community and the politicians. The family gathering took place in the backyard of the Embassy premises and there were many segments organized for families, especially kids. There was music, songs, games, prizes and plenty of food and the visitors enjoyed themselves the opportunity to enjoy the impeccable hospitality of the Indonesian embassy on a lean day.
Ambassador Kazhar Farhadov of Azerbaijan, High Commissioner Col (R) Pengiran Kamal Bashah Achmad of Brunei Darussalam and Director General, Mr. Asif Iqbal Khan of National Library of Pakistan were among the notable guests.
In his remarks, Ambassador Adam Tugio expressed his gratitude for friends of Indonesia from the diplomatic community and Pakistan for their support and good cooperation which helped the Embassy in strengthening bilateral ties and people to people connection of the two countries. There exists huge potential between the two countries to further strengthen and expand trade and bilateral ties and Indonesia looks forward to enhancing these relations in diverse sectors.
Chairperson of Rawalpindi Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ms. Riffat Shaheen presented the replica, a hand sculpted model, the world’s largest flower “Titan Arum” to the embassy.
The awe-inspiring creation was unveiled by the Ambassador of Indonesia with his spouse and Ms. Riffat Shaheen, symbolizing the flourishing friendship between the two brotherly nations. “Titan Arum is a symbol of long life, beauty, resilience and cultural richness, this flower is a token of love for the Indonesian people”, mentioned Ms Riffat Shaheen, who is also a renowned artist, sculptor and painter.
She wished the ambassador a successful life ahead and thanked him for further strengthening the bilateral relations particularly trade ties between Pakistan and Indonesia. The guests were served with renowned Indonesian delicacies such as Bakso (beef balls soup), Sate Ayam or Indonesian chicken tikka, and Nasi Goreng (fried rice), creating an unforgettable experience of Indonesian culinary diversity.
