The Thai Ambassador said: “The Royal Thai Embassy is very pleased to work with Serena Hotel to present authentic and Halal Thai food to Pakistani guests. Thailand is famous for excellence in food and for its wonderful cultural heritage as well as the amazing cultural performances. The Royal Thai Embassy in Islamabad hopes that everyone will enjoy authentic Thai cuisine and the very lively performances by the professional cultural troupe from Thailand.”

The Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran, Mehdi Honardoost hosted a reception at a local hotel in Islamabad to mark the 38th anniversary of the victory of Islamic Revolution and the national day of Iran. Federal Minister of Commerce, Khuramm Dastgir Khan was the chief guest while Raja Ashfaq Sarwar Provincial Minister of Punjab for Labour & Human Resource was also a special guest as he was representing Mian Shahbaz sharif, the Chief Minister Punjab. During the ceremony national anthems of Pakistan and Iran were sung by the students of local school.

Serena Hotels in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Invitational Golf Championship at the Islamabad Club Golf Course on Saturday. The Tournament was held under the Serena Hotels Sports Diplomacy Initiative and played on the Shot Gun format. [...] Sartaj Aziz said “Sports diplomacy is part of cultural diplomacy which allows people and communities to work together for a greater cause “and also recalled the “mountaineering expedition sent together to various countries promoting message of peace and public diplomacy”.

Serena Hotels, under its Cultural Diplomacy initiative, organized a wonderful Heritage Fair at the Serena Business Complex Lawn, to help promote local art and artisans. With cultural music playing in the background and provincial artists dancing, the atmosphere boasted a fragrance of delicious local cuisine as craftspeople and vendors showcased the cultural diversity of the country.

Eight Pakistani women visiting Los Angeles County for a women’s empowerment trip and cultural exchange funded by the U.S. State Department will be in Pasadena on Thursday, July 21, to take part in a panel discussion about “Creating Urban Green Spaces: From California to Islamabad.”

Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz Friday said in international relations, Pakistan needs to use the persuasive approach of ‘soft power’ to promote its image in the world community. [...] Aziz said instead of ‘hard power’ based on coercion, the soft power associated with culture and economy was more effective to attain the preferred results.

Speaking at a conference chaired by Senator Sherry Rehman titled ‘The Road to 2016: Negotiating Deadlock and Diplomacy with India and Afghanistan’, participants discussed Jinnah Institute’s Track II diplomacy efforts for building sustained channels of bilateral and multilateral engagements and for offering alternative recommendations on regional policy issues.