National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Lok Virsa Thursday opened ‘Kyrgyz Cultural Corner’ at the Heritage Museum to capture the traditions, arts and crafts of Kyrgyz Republic.
Federal Minister for National Heritage and Integration Samina Khalid Ghurki and Kyrgyz Ambassador to Pakistan Alik Orozov inaugurated the cultural corner to coincide with the 20th anniversary of diplomatic and cordial relations between Pakistan and Kyrgyz Republic while officials of Lok Virsa were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Ghurki said, “Pakistan attaches high importance to its relations with Central Asian states, in particular Kyrgyztan. Both the countries enjoy cordial and brotherly ties that are growing day by day. The creation of the Kyrgyz cultural corner in Pakistan will certainly enhance this friendly relationship which would ultimately result in bringing the people of both the countries closer to each other. Pakistan has a very rich and diverse culture. People living in each corner and region have their own indigenous traditions, lifestyles, rituals, craft and musical heritage, which they proudly practice in their daily life.”
“Lok Virsa deserves commendation in reflecting true cultural identity of the people of Pakistan in all its projects and programmes,” she said. The minister said the creation of the Kyrgyz corner at Islamabad is a valuable addition to the existing collections of the Heritage Museum visited regularly by high-level delegations apart from the general public.
Alik Orozov said, “Our countries are united by geographical proximity and common historical roots. We both have a great faith-Islam. In the customs and traditions of the people living in Pakistan, there are elements of our Turkic culture and traditions. For a long time, our people were artificially separated and lived in different geographical orbits, first in British and Russian empires, then in two world social and political systems. On May 10, 1992, ideological and all other barriers were eliminated and an agreement was signed to establish diplomatic relations,” he said. Well-developed democratic institutions and a favorable legal framework in Kyrgyztan create the most attractive conditions for foreign investment, he said, adding Kyrgyztan could become a good logistic platform to promote Pakistani goods to the markets of Russia, Kyrgyztan and Central Asia. Kyrgyztan, as a member of CASA- 1000 project, is ready to deliver over 1.5 billion kilowatts of electricity to Pakistan annually.
