FO rubbishes ‘misleading’ reports of Pakistani mangoes gifted to foreign dignitaries
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rubbished the ‘misleading’ reports of Pakistani mangoes being gifted to foreign dignitaries.
A number of news outlets reported that FO was sending mangoes to state heads and government leaders of more than 32 countries on President Dr. Arif Alvi’s behalf as part of ‘mango diplomacy’.
While a few Indian news outlets including NDTV and The New Indian Express, picked up the story quoting the report from The News’, with a headline reading “US, China Decline Pakistan’s ‘Mango Diplomacy’, Send Back Fruit Souvenirs.”
Foreign Office in a statement said: “We have seen media reports regarding the dispatch of Pakistani mangoes last week as [a] gift to some foreign dignitaries. We reject these reports as factually incorrect and misleading.”
The FO in its statement added that “a section of the Indian media has carried wrong and irresponsible reports.”
“Every year, the president of Pakistan sends high-quality mangoes as [a] gift to selected countries as part of goodwill and to promote our trade diplomacy efforts,” FO added explaining the Mango Diplomacy.
“The [MoFA] prepares a list of countries keeping in view quarantine regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements as well as the availability of flights. Since last year, Covid-19-related stipulations are also part of the consideration,” the statement said.
It clarified that the process for the current year was still in the planning stages and, therefore, “there is no question of dispatch of mangoes to any country.”
The misleading report of the news outlet had added that a number of countries, including the US and China, had refused to accept the mango dispatches and asked Pakistan to not send them due to “quarantine regulations”.
The report had added that the mangoes would also be sent to Iran, Gulf countries, Turkey, United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Russia, while Canada, Nepal, Egypt, and Sri Lanka were among the countries which had refused the gift.
