Distinguished Guests,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon and Dàjiā hǎo,

It is my pleasure, on the eve of Pakistan’s Independence Day, to welcome you to this celebration beneath the banner of sun-ripened mango diplomacy, where culture, commerce, and camaraderie converge in a single golden fruit.

Before all else, I would extend my heartfelt acknowledgements to those who have made this occasion possible.

 To Joanna, whose seamless work with my own team, has turned sunlight into spectacle. To our valued partner, Dong-E-E-Jiao Group, for fusing centuries of wellness wisdom with the vibrance of this harvest. To our steadfast friends, Ambassador Luo Zhaohui, and DDG Xu Yan of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), whose unwavering support has nourished these roots. To Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, whose presence here at my invitation is deeply appreciated.

 I also warmly welcome Vice President Zhang Qingfeng of the China Fruit Marketing Association; our guests from the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province; Party Secretary Zhang Guangqing of the Central Agricultural Broadcasting and Television School; and our friends from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

To everyone present, you are the orchard-keepers of this friendship.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In our hands today rests one of Pakistan’s most treasured gifts to the world: mangoes that carry the warmth of the Indus Valley, the whispers of ancient orchards, and the promise of a shared future between our peoples.

Culturally, the Pakistani mango has long transcended the status of a mere fruit. It is a living manuscript of our land. Its skin gleams with the gold once shaped by Gandhara’s artisans; its flesh holds the monsoon rains that inspired Sufi poets; its fragrance recalls caravans along the Silk Road, carrying not only goods but the dreams of civilizations. It is served at family gatherings, immortalized in poetry, and exchanged as a token of respect, and is per se an edible ambassador of Pakistan’s soul.

Commercially, it is an engine of opportunity, sustaining the livelihoods of countless Pakistani farming families and carrying the aspirations of rural communities. Through cold-chain technology, these mangoes now reach dining tables thousands of miles away without losing the blush of the orchard, becoming a new currency of partnership that blends the resilience of traditional agriculture with the innovation of modern trade.

This festival is a symphony where earth converses with enterprise. When Pakistani mangoes meet Chinese e-commerce, we can write new chapters of inclusive growth. When ancestral farming wisdom joins hands with AI-driven agriculture, we can cultivate sustainable gold. And as you taste these mangoes today and the various culinary derivatives of it, you will taste dawn breaking over groves of Multan and Mirpur Khas, generations of patience in every fiber, and the unbreakable thread connecting Islamabad to Beijing.

Today we are reminded that true partnership is not only shared interests, it is shared sunrises over shared soil and a shared determination to let sweetness endure. With the Silk Road’s spirit in our veins and mango nectar on our lips, let us celebrate this treasure together.

And as you leave, I invite you to take with you not only the memory of this day, but also a gift of Pakistan’s finest mangoes to savour later, so that the sweetness of our friendship lingers in your homes.

I thank you all.