Cultural exchanges bring peoples together: Soomro
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan and Hungary are the inheritors of a rich and diverse cultural heritage, and can develop further through mutual co-operation and sharing of experiences.
This was stated by Chairman Senate, Mohammedmian Soomro while talking to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Dr. Kinga Gonez, who is on the first ever visit to Pakistan these days. The Chairman said cultural exchanges are also a means of bringing different peoples together and promotion peace and harmony in the world. “Cultural affinities always bind people in strong bonds,” he observed.
Soomro said, Pakistan takes pride in its Buddhist, Gandhara and Mughal civilizations’ remains in addition to places like Moenjodaro and Harappa. This richness and diversity is seen rarely in any other country of the world. Similarly, he said Hungary can also offer a lot to the world in the field of culture and tourism. The chairman also called for more frequent parliamentary exchanges between Pakistan and Hungary and greater interaction in the educational field to their mutual advantage. Apprising the Hungarian dignitary of the government policies, the Chairman said at present it is focusing on improving the quality of life of the people. Promotion of health and education facilities and gender mainstreaming are the major priorities.
He said the government is making efforts to accord greater representation to women in all elected bodies including the Parliament. He informed the Hungarian Foreign Minister that at present women representation in Pakistan stood at 21 percent and 33 percent in the parliament and local government institutions respectively, which is even higher than many developed countries. He said there are 44,000 women councilors in the country.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that at present the need of hour is to promote inter-faith harmony and intercultural contacts to lay the foundations of a harmonious world order. The Chairman also briefed the delegation on the role and functions of the parliament with special reference to the process of legislation. He also enunciated the matters relating to the functioning of the local government system introduced in 2001. The local body system, he said, focused on empowering the people at the grass root level.
Meanwhile: Both Pakistan and Hungary are the inheritors of a rich and diverse cultural heritage, which these can develop further through mutual co-operation and sharing of experiences. This was stated by Chairman Senate, Mr. Mohammedmian Soomro while talking to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Dr. Kinga Goncz, who is on the first ever visit to Pakistan these days.
The Chairman said cultural exchanges are also a means of bringing different peoples together and promoting peace and harmony in the world.