Pakistan is partnering with music platform “Coke Studio” to bring out the “true face” of the country through music, as it prepares to bring the country’s largest export of popular culture to Expo, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said at a launch event Thursday evening. 2020 in Dubai, from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
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“Coke Studio” is a Pakistani TV show that features live studio-recorded shows by popular and emerging artists. A regional version previously ran in the Arab world. During its announcement earlier this week, the State Department said the goal of the collaboration is to “connect hearts and minds around the world with music.”
The launch event in Islamabad saw famous musicians Abu Muhammad and Farid Ayaz playing a number of well-known pieces of qawwali – traditional Sufi devotional music – including “God is” and “Mast Qalandar”.
“In cooperation with Expo 2020, I will undertake another mission in Dubai where we will showcase the economic potential and economic opportunities of Pakistan,” Qureshi said at the concert in Islamabad.
“Through these events and our initiatives, we are showing the true face of Pakistan through cultural diplomacy, connecting people through digital diplomacy, and boosting Pakistan’s economy through economic diplomacy,” the foreign minister told Arab News.
Qureshi added that choosing to open the new public diplomacy initiative with Qawwali was deliberate, because “the tradition of Sufism has been a tradition of tolerance, and this is the tradition of Pakistan.”
“This is the tradition of the subcontinent and South Asia and this is what we strive to continue,” Qureshi said. “When Sufism began to spread, they called for tolerance, cared for humanity and their message was one of love, unity, harmony between religions, and a better understanding.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced another collaboration with “Coke Studio” – the Overseas Festival, to be held in Lahore in December, to which the minister said he will invite prominent members of the Pakistani diaspora.
“We hope to invite high achievers from the diaspora, expatriate Pakistanis from Europe, America, Canada, and other places to participate in the Overseas Festival,” Qureshi said. “We will connect the diaspora and see how they can contribute to the economic growth of Pakistan and how they can be the true ambassadors of Pakistan.”
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Source: Ukrgate
