2019.28.4 Attendance at the Junior Chamber International’s 2019 World Festival

Attendance at the Junior Chamber International’s 2019 World Festival.

April 28, 2019: It was a pleasure for H.E. Ambassador Dr. Bashir Mohabbat to attend the 2019 JCI World Festival at Komazawa Olympic Park in Setagaya Ward of Tokyo.

This year’s festival, one of the largest international festivals in the area, drew over 15,000 guests to event on the perfectly sunny day. In the opening ceremony, H.E. Ms. Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo Prefecture, gave remarks welcoming all the guests and participants to the event and strongly encouraged them to visit the international booths in order to broaden their horizons even further in preparation for next year’s 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The embassy’s Public Relations Office hosted a cultural booth in the International Friendship Area, in order to introduce Afghan culture and to the many guests who visited the booth. Well over 1000 guests visiting the Afghanistan booth had the opportunity to try Afghan saffron lemonade, learn about the many diverse culture aspects of Afghanistan, hear of the progress and development made over the recent years, and even purchase Afghan items from local Afghan vendors.

While at the festival, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohabbat had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with the host of the grand event, Hon. Mr. Masanori Shiozawa, Current President of the Junior Chamber International’s Tokyo Chapter, thanking him for extending the invitation to participate in the event to the Embassy. Further, on behalf of the people and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, H.E. Dr. Mohabbat thanked the people and Government of the friendly and noble nation of Japan for their steadfast and benevolent support of Afghanistan over the years as it has strived for development, peace, and prosperity in an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process. In return, Hon. Mr. Shiozawa thanked H.E. Dr. Mohabbat for attending the event, hosting an Afghanistan booth, and for his kind words. Moreover he promised that JCI would endeavor to stand with and support Afghanistan well into the future and the Embassy in many ways including hosting a Afghanistan Press and Information house for the upcoming 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. All those who visited the Afghanistan booth remarked how enjoyable and enlightening their new impression of Afghanistan was and remarked how much the wished for even further peace and prosperity for Afghanistan in the future.