ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: The new British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Robert Brinkley, arrived here on Sunday to take up his new post. He replaces Sir Mark Lyall Grant who has returned to London.

Brinkley was previously British Ambassador to Ukraine, and between 2000 and 2002 he was the head of UK visas, a press release of the high commission said.

“I’m delighted to have arrived here in Pakistan as the new British High Commissioner at what is a very exciting time for Pakistan and for its relations with the United Kingdom,” he observed.

“With around one million British citizens claiming Pakistani heritage, and $2 billion worth of trade flowing between our two countries each year, there is much that unites us. The two high- level visits we had just before I arrived - those of the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Tony Blair - illustrates how important this relationship is to the United Kingdom.”

Brinkley has also served in Moscow (twice), Bonn and Geneva. He is accompanied by his wife Mary. They have three sons, born in 1982, 1984 and 1989.