Ghada Shawky, spouse of the Ambassador of Egypt, takes over as the new IWG President
The International Women’s Group in Kuwait held a Nepal Cultural Day Event on Sunday, 5 June 2022, at hotel Crowne Plaza amidst the presence of a number of distinguished guests.
The program was organised in cooperation with the Embassy of Nepal and inaugurated jointly by H.E. Durga Prasad Bhandari, Ambassador of Nepal to Kuwait, Mrs. Bindhya Bhandari , Spouse of the Ambassador and Mrs. Cristiana Baldocci, IWG President by lighting the lamp . As President of IWG, Mrs. Cristiana Baldocci welcomed the guests thanking Sheikha Hanouf Bader Al Mohamad Al Sabah, Honorary President of the International Women’s Group and spouse of H.E the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for her continuous support and guidance to the activities of the IWG.
Ms. Baldocci’s opening was followed by welcome remarks by H.E. Durga Prasad Bhandari, Ambassador of Nepal to Kuwait. The Ambassador expressed his happiness for participating and contributing in the event particularly at a time, as he said, when Nepal and Kuwait have been celebrating 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between them. He extended sincere thanks to the IWG for providing this unique opportunity in this important milestone year. He highlighted the richness of natural and cultural heritage of Nepal and expressed that Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country in which all the people have been living together in peace, tolerance and harmony. He said that “unity in diversity is the specialty of Nepal “. He expressed his happiness to present dances on popular Nepali National and folk songs, play Nepali musical instruments including maadal, Baansuri (flute), harmonium, damfu by the artists in both national as well as in their traditional community costumes. He added that there will be a short video presentation showing Nepal’s unique geographical features with high Himalayas, hills and plain / terai regions, cultural heritages, traditions, customs and local life of Nepali people and said that it would illustrate Nepal’s international image as an attractive destination for international tourism. He concluded his speech by thanking the participants and urging them to visit Nepal. He congratulated the International Women Group for their work in the arena of culture, tradition and knowledge sharing among its members through a variety of events.
The video presentation included the materials depicting life style , Nepali customs and rituals , food , natural and cultural heritage sites , historical monuments , magnificent mountains , lakes , wildlife , adventure tourism activities in Nepal like white water rafting , boating , trekking , mountaineering , bungee jumping , jungle safari to be discovered by International tourism and much more .
The pictures and photos of popular Nepali sites of cultural importance and tourist attractions were also portrayed at the event.
Before the conclusion of the programme , the IWG meeting bade farewell to the outgoing President of IWG Mrs. Cristiana Baldocci , spouse to Italian Ambassador , upon completion of her term as President and announced Mrs Ghada Shawky, spouse of the Ambassador of Egypt, as the new IWG President for 2022/2023. Mrs. Baldocci delivering farewell speech thanked all IWG members, distinguished guests and others for their whole hearted support and cooperation in her work as President of the Group.
At the end of the ceremony, raffle prizes including special handicraft items like Nepali pashmina product, wooden products carved by Nepali craftsman, Nepali products like tea, coffee, honey, Nepali food products were distributed. Similarly, round – trip air tickets between Kuwait and Nepal, sponsored by Jazeera Airways, were also offered on that occasion. Finally, door gift of traditional Nepali handicraft items were also distributed to all participants.
The buffet offered at the end of the event include Nepali Momo , sel roti , mutton pakku , chicken chhoyala , chatamari , aalooko achaar ( potato pickle ) etc.