Indonesian envoy launches ‘Batik’ exhibition

 

Islamabad, OCT 13: Indonesian Ambassador launched the ‘Batik’ exhibition titled ‘Indonesia Batik: Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ at the Centaurus Mall, on Monday.

The exhibition which is collaboration between the Indonesian Embassy, and the Batik Studio, Islamabad aims at transmitting inspiring innovative ideas and skill development in creative mediums and fashion industry.

President Pakistan Women Association Mehwish Sohail was the guest of honour on the occasion while faculty and students from National College of Arts, Iqra University and Fatima Jinnah University were also present on the occasion.

Ambassador Adam Tugio flanked by the guest of honour, GM Operations Centaurus Mall Irfan Ul Haque, CEO Batik Studio Mohsin Qamar launched the exhibition by cutting the ribbon.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Adam Tugio said that because of the shared historical, religious and cultural linkages and remarkable similarities the possibilities for deepening of Indonesia’s relationship with Pakistan were enormous and hence promotion of people to people contact encourages the vital role that various stakeholders could play in contributing to the strength and vitality of the bilateral relationship.

He said that Indonesia was extremely rich in art and culture which were intertwined with religion and age-old traditions. The crafts of Indonesia vary in both medium and art form and as whole the people are artistic by nature and express themselves on canvas, wood, metals, clay and stone, he added.

The Envoy said that Batik was the most quintessentially Indonesian textile and historically the most expressive and subtle of the resist methods. Batik was intertwined with the cultural identity of the Indonesian people and, through the symbolic meanings of its colours and designs, expresses their creativity and spirituality. 

It was gaining popularity internationally as a wonderful creative medium and, no wonder, it has been added to the Representative List of Unesco’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity which is the theme of the today’s exhibition as well, he elaborated.

On this occasion, the Ambassador also informed that the Embassy will soon organize “The Pakistan Batik Design Competition” in collaboration with the Pakistani Universities. He mentioned that the top three winners of the competition will be sent to Indonesia’s world famous Bali Island for a free trip and get two weeks hands on training on Batik Technique and Designing at the prime Arts College of the Island.

Batik textiles feature ornate motifs, patterns, and colours created by brushing or pouring hot wax onto un-dyed fabric. The fabric is then dyed, and the wax is removed with boiling water to reveal the patterns. This process can be repeated multiple times to create layered patterns with different colours.

Although it is common to see the mass production of batik with technology and machines, it is still made by hand in many parts of Indonesia. 

There is a considerable market for this high-quality cloth. Batik is gaining popularity both in Indonesia and abroad and the fashion designers were incorporating batik textiles and designs into their range of collection. 

The list of batik products was ever getting lengthier and the striking beauty of batik handbags, bedspreads, curtains and tablecloths was indescribable. The exhibition will continues till Wednesday (13 October) and displays some fine collection of batik and batik products.

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COURTESY THE NEWS

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Japanese ambassador condoles Balochistan quake deaths

ISLAMABAD, OCT 8: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on Friday expressed his deepest condolences and sorrow with the Government and people of Balochistan affected by the earthquake occurred on October 7th.

In his condolence message, Ambassador MATSUDA conveyed his heartfelt grief and sympathies to those affcected by this horrific natural disaster.

 “Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the dreadful disaster. We are always ready to extend help and assistance to Pakistan in the time of natural disasters and calamities,” said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and wished for the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude and equanimity. The Ambassador also expressed his wish for the early recovery of those injured and restoration of the affected areas.

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Japanese ambassador greets newly elected office-bearers of PJCA Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, OCT 7: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on Thursday, October 7 administered the oath of newly elected office-bearers of Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA) Islamabad. 

An oath taking ceremony to this effect was held today at the official residence of the Ambassador, with a limited number of attendees as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

Justice (R) Ali Nawaz Chowhan has been unanimously elected as the new President of Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA) Islamabad by the members of its executive committee where as Mrs. ORITA Toshiko and Prof. Dr. Nusrat Ara Majeed were elected as Vice Presidents.

Ambassador MATSUDA, while speaking on the occasion, congratulated the newly elected office-bearers of PJCA Islamabad and expressed his good wishes for their future endeavors to further deepen the cultural interactions and most importantly people-to-people contacts between Japan and Pakistan.

“The friendship between our two nations is based on mutual trust, cooperation, and understanding. I believe that cultural relationship, in particular, can significantly contribute to further deepen the existing mutual trust and understanding between Japan and Pakistan”, said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador expressed his hope that PJCA and other such organizations in Pakistan would step forward and join the Embassy of Japan to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan next year in a befitting way.

Justice (R) Ali Nawaz Chowhan, the newly-elected President of PJCA Islamabad, while expressing his views on the occasion, thanked the Ambassador for taking time to grace the oath taking ceremony of the recently elected executive committee members of the association.

While assuring his association’s cooperation to further strengthening the cultural relations between the two countries, President PJCA stated that the new team of PJCA Islamabad will do its best to promote the cultural ties between Pakistan and Japan with close cooperation of the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan.

Since PJCA Islamabad was formally inaugurated in 1972, the organization has been playing an important role in the promotion of friendship and cultural relations between Japan and Pakistan.

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Japan govt thru FAO supports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Locust Control in the province

 

ISLAMABAD, OCT 5: The government of Japan in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations handed over locust control items to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in a ceremony organized in Islamabad, under the Grant in Aid project titled “Project for the Restoration of Livelihoods in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”.

The items handed over during the ceremony included 20,000 liters of insecticide, 170 battery-operated sprays pumps, 170 generator-operated spray pumps and 77 units of motorcycles for mobilization of staff of the Agriculture Extension Department for future locust control activities in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The support will strengthen the operational capacities for desert locust control operations through better preparedness and response to the crisis.

The handing over ceremony was attended by MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Mohibullah Khan, Minister for Agriculture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. FURUTA Shigeki, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office, Ms. Florence Marie Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan and Dr. Israr Khan, Secretary Agriculture GoKP as well as other senior officials of the relevant departments of the Government of KP.

The aforesaid project, which provided grants worth 560 million Japanese Yen (Equivalent to around USD 5.1 million / around PKR 840 million), started in April 2018 and will be completed within 2021. The Project has been implemented in order to restore livelihoods in the Merged Districts of KP by improving productivity and value addition in the Agriculture Sector. Under the project, activities like establishment of fruit nurseries, rehabilitation of irrigation channels, and distribution of poultry packages have taken place and benefitted more than 32,000 households (around 295,000 individuals). The provision of the locust control equipment was added so that the KP Government can effectively tackle with locust attacks in future.

At the handing over, Ambassador MATSUDA stated, "Japan supported Pakistan to control locust outbreak by supplying 60 thousand litters of insecticide and material needed, along with financial support to farmers last year. Moreover, we are providing additional material to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because we believe that initial response is essential for locust control in the near future. I hope people in this region will continue stable farming and our cooperation will contribute to their prosperity”.

Ms. Florence Marie Rolle, FAO Representative stated that the support from the people of Japan was instrumental in the restoration of livelihoods in the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and augmenting the capacity of Agriculture Department to cope with future disasters more effectively. She further added that our collaboration with the Embassy of Japan and JICA will further be strengthened in the days ahead for the provision of better services to the crisis hit people in the NMDs and elsewhere in the country. 

Mr. FURUTA Shigeki while speaking at the ceremony said that the two phases of projects, funded by Government of Japan ensured food security through sustainable agriculture development that resumed agriculture-based livelihoods of the people who returned after internal displacement. He hoped that the JICA support would make a significant contribution for strengthening capacity of Agriculture Extension Department in combating future locust attack in the targeted areas to minimize crops damages of poor farm families.

Mohibullah Khan, Minister for Agriculture, KP expressed his appreciation on behalf of the Government of KP. He thanked the Government of Japan and JICA for their extended support through the FAO implemented project for the restoration of livelihoods in the Merged Districts of KP. He further said that this support came at a very critical juncture and much needed time, which had not only revitalized livelihoods of the local people but ensured their food security as well.

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Japan confers “Order of Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” upon Feroz Alam Shah

 

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 29: The Government of Japan has conferred the 2021 Spring Imperial Decoration, “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” upon Feroz Alam Shah, Honorary Technical Advisor, Federal Board of Investment (BoI) and Director of National Engineering Corporation (NEC), in recognition of his dedicated contributions to promoting economic relations and mutual understanding between Japan and Pakistan.

MATSUDA Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on behalf of the Government of Japan on September 29 conferred the imperial decoration “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” upon Feroz Alam Shah. The conferral ceremony was held at his official residence with limited participants, while taking infection prevention measures against COVID-19.

Feroz Alam Shah has worked as Honorary Technical Advisor at the Federal Board of Investment (BoI) since 2010, supporting business ties between Japan and Pakistan, whilst simultaneously working as a director in the private sector. In terms of facilitation of new entrants to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Pakistan, he dedicated to assisting entry of business in the Pakistani market.

He additionally dealt with the complicated application process, cooperating with the Pakistani Government. Likewise, after formal introduction into the market, he contributed to working for the coordination of amendments to the SEZ Act to be more coherence with actual business activities.

Apart from his work furthering bilateral business ties, he has established “Pak-Japan Friendship Society (PJFS)” in 2000 in Balochistan with his brother, and been fulfilling a major role as the president from 2018.

He has also contributed to establish “Pak-Japan Culture Centre in Quetta” which promote cultural exchange through introducing Japanese Movies, Japanese Marshal arts “Karate” and Flower arrangement etc. His activities is not just focusing on not only strengthening Economic ties but also cultural understanding between two countries.

Ambassador MATSUDA, while speaking on the occasion, congratulated Mr. Shah on receiving this prestigious imperial decoration by the Government of Japan and hoped to develop closer cooperative ties between two countries along with Mr. Shah.

The Ambassador expressed his sincere hope that this contribution will further promote and strengthen economic relations and mutual understanding between Japan and Pakistan as well as people-to-people contacts between the two friendly nations. 

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