Mango gift reports incorrect: foreign office

Says this year there is no question of dispatch of mangoes to any country

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected reports that the government has presented Pakistani mangoes to foreign dignitaries as gifts and said such reports are “factually incorrect and misleading”.

“We have seen media reports regarding the dispatch of Pakistani mangoes last week as gifts to some foreign dignitaries. We reject these reports as factually incorrect and misleading,” Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry said on Sunday in a statement.

“A section of the Indian media has carried wrong and irresponsible reports,” he added.

According to Chaudhry, the president of Pakistan sends high-quality mangoes as gifts to selected countries every year as part of goodwill and to promote our trade diplomacy efforts.

“The mango exports increased to $104 million in 2019-20 from $78 million the previous year.”
He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares a list of countries keeping in mind the quarantine regulations, sanitary requirements as well as availability of flights.

“Since last year, Covid-19 related stipulations are also part of the consideration. For the current year, the process is still in the planning stage. As such, there is no question of dispatch of mangoes to any country,” he added.