Pakistan, U.S vow to further promote bilateral ties

WASHINGTON, July 15 (NNI): Pakistan and the United States have reiterated the resolve to further promote their bilateral cultural and people to people ties. The resolve was expressed during meeting between Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Masood Khan and Head of Smithsonian Institute’s Asian Cultural History Program Dr. Paul Michael Taylor in Washington. Underscoring that existing cultural affinities form a foundation for strengthening ties between the two peoples, Ambassador Masood Khan said such exchanges will help people better understand each other’s perspectives and cultures. He noted that the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of Pak-US Diplomatic ties this year is an excellent opportunity to show the close cultural linkages between the two countries. Masood Khan invited the Smithsonian Institute to partner with the Embassy in this regard and collaborate with Pakistani embassy in facilitating bilateral exchanges and organizing events to promote rich Pakistani culture in the United States. Dr Taylor welcomed the idea and vowed to collaborate to mark this important milestone. He also briefed the Ambassador on the rich collection maintained by the Smithsonian Institute on Pakistan, particularly on Kashmir. Alluding to his frequent travelling to Pakistan, Dr Taylor expressed interest in working on the rich cultural heritage of the region. He said that he had frequently travelled to Pakistan and was interested in working on the rich cultural heritage of the region. He also shared his earlier collaboration with Lok Virsa on a multi-year museum and archival capacity building project as well as his ongoing collaboration with International Resource Centre (IRC) and Maati TV in Lahore on a series of programs encouraging local production of films in Central and South Punjab. He also spoke about various fellowships and research opportunities offered by the Smithsonian Institute for graduate, pre-doctoral, or post-doctoral students. He said that there was very little interest from Pakistan in these fellowships and that he looked forward to have more participation from Pakistani applicants in these programs. -NNI