A three-day Pakistan food and mango festival at the InterContinental Hotel, Riyadh ended last Sunday. The festival was inaugurated by Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, who had come to Riyadh to participate in the independence day celebrations, and Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq. The Pakistan food and mango festival has become one of the most popular and eagerly awaited event in Riyadh. There has been an encouraging response from Pakistani, Saudi and international communities to the festival regularly held for the past four years. The rich variety of food from various parts of Pakistan including Chappal Kabab and Namkeen Boti from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Lahori Karahi and Kasturi Boti from Punjab, Biryani and Haleem from Sindh, Sajji from Baluchistan and Haresa from Kashmir were served along with international buffet on this occasion. This was in addition to various delicacies prepared from mangoes. An exclusive mango sale point was also set up where mangoes were available on a lower than market price. The festival attracted more than 500 people on a daily basis. Hundreds of gifts including crates of mangoes were distributed among the participants. There were raffle draw and Quiz program on Pakistan where gifts were presented to the winners. The event was organized with the help and assistance of various sponsors dealing with products from Pakistan. Commercial Attache Waseem Hayat Bajwa said that we have been able to establish a solid platform for the promotion of Pakistani Food products like rice, meat, mangoes, spices, etc through this annually held festival in the Kingdom. Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq said that encouraged by the attendance in the festival, the embassy will arrange more such events in the coming months. — SG
