Govt. facilitating religious tourism for promotion of peace, harmony: FS

ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP):Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood Tuesday said that the government was facilitating religious tourism in Pakistan with the common message of peace, harmony and understandings among all religions.

He was talking to the Most Venerable Arayawangso, a distinguished Buddhist monk from Thailand, who called on him, a press release said.

During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary dilated upon Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage, Pakistan-Thailand relations over the past several decades and the importance of strengthening academic and scholarly linkages between the two countries.

He expressed the hope that the visit would help promote people-to-people contacts and spiritual linkages between Pakistan and Thailand that went back to the ancient times of Gandhara civilization.

Pakistan was proud of its multicultural heritage, which had been assiduously preserved and promoted as the shared heritage of mankind, he added.

The Most Venerable Arayawangso thanked for the hospitality extended by the Government of Pakistan and hoped that the visit would encourage tourists from Thailand and other countries to visit Pakistan and study its Buddhist heritage and Gandhara civilization.

He also shared his perspective on ways to raise greater awareness about the richness of Pakistan’s cultural heritage and bringing the people of the two countries closer through academic and scholarly research.

The Most Venerable Arayawangso, along with a 15-member delegation from Thailand, is visiting Pakistan from October 28 to 1st November.
The delegation will visit Gandhara heritage sites in Pakistan.