WD | Culture | Diplomacy
Nishantha Perera of Sri Lanka promotes Ceylon tea.
Banana chips, tea, canned tuna and other Mauritius products on display.
Washington Diplomat sales manager Rodolfo Carrasco and Changu Newman, wife of the ambassador of Botswana
Winternational CONTINUED • PAGE 30
tional city. Paris has the Eiffel Tower; London has Buckingham Palace,” he noted. “But Washington has a vibrant international community, and today epitomizes that.” A variety of nations ranging from Australia to Uzbekistan see the festival as a once-in-a-year chance to publicize their unique cultural attributes. “We are about to celebrate our 50th anniversary of independence in 2016, so we’re pulling out all the stops,” said Hosai Rashid of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade David John Newman, ambassador of Center; Carolina Kitras, cultural attaché at the Embassy of Panama; and Botswana, which is considered one of Af- embassy liaison Jan du Plain rica’s most prosperous, well-managed countries. Said fellow Ambassador Román Macaya of Costa Rica: “It’s our second time at Winternational, and we’ll certainly be here every year. It’s something we don’t miss and it’s a great opportunity to showcase what Costa Rica is all about.” One of the smallest and most remote countries exhibiting at this year’s festival was Fiji, a South Pacific archipelago of 880,000 people spread across 300 islands. “Just looking around the room and looking at the vibrancy of the different nationalities here, it’s the richness of the world you’ve been able to capture here,” said Fiji’s ambassador, Naivakarurubalavu Solo Mara, as his consular officer, Clarita Phillips, offered visitors coconut pieces, banana chips and, of course, bottles of natural artesian Fiji water. John Drew is chief executive of TCMA, the group that manages the Ronald Reagan Building through a public-private partnership with the General Services Administration. The TCMA team at RRB/ITC provides a central forum for building connections, fostering diplomacy and advancing global commerce by offering a rich mix of signature events such as high-profile economic summits, conferences, business matchmaking seminars and cultural programs like Winternational. “The turnout is beyond belief, from both the embassies and the local community,” Drew said as the Dec. 9 event was wrapping up. “We could not be more pleased with how things have turned out today.” Stay tuned for the next Winternational festival, set for Dec. 9, 2016. WD Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat. 32 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | FEBRUARY 2016
Traditional hand-painting at the Bangladesh booth
Washington Diplomat publisher Victor Shiblie and Sameh Alfonse, deputy chief representative of the Arab League
Ambassador of South Africa Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu; Changu Newman; and Ambassador of Botswana David John Newman
PHOTOS: LARRY LUXNER
Dilruba Hossain paints Jamie Frungillo’s hand at the Bangladesh booth.