Diplomatic community bids farewell to envoys

Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Argentine ambassador Rodolfo Martin Saravia hosted a lunch reception to bid farewell to three outgoing ambassadors - T.C.A. Raghavan from India, Zenen Burego Concepcion from Cuba and Alireza Haghighian from Iran.

They had all served in Pakistan for three to four years, and were popular members of the diplomatic community.

All three envoys spoke at the event.

The Cuban ambassador highlighted his country’s assistance in higher education, saying Cuba has hosted nearly a thousand Pakistani students who have returned to Pakistan as fully qualified doctors.

They were also presented with a carved jewellery chest, inscribed with the names of all the envoys posted in Pakistan during their service.

Two new ambassadors were also welcomed at the event: Italian ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo and US ambassador David Hale, as was International Organisation for Migration (IOM) chief David Terzi.

Additional Foreign Secretary Iffat Imran Gardezi attended the event on behalf of the Pakistani government.

Independence Day of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan celebrated its 24th Independence Day and its 20th Neutrality Day last week. Ambassador Atadjan Movlamov and his wife Gozel Movlamova welcomed hundreds of guests to a local hotel for a festive evening.

One diplomat described the event as one of the largest receptions they had ever attended.

Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada was invited as the chief guest.

The ambassador and the minister both emphasised the importance of cordial relations between Turkmenistan and Pakistan. The declared neutrality of Turkmenistan was also highlighted.

A local NGO representative said: “I am glad that Turkmenistan focuses on peace issues. Often we speak about peace as part of the military’s role, but we don’t make neutrality an explicit policy.”

The Central Asian cuisine was also popular among locals and foreigners.

“The similarities in food and in the colourful national dress reminded us of the closeness between Pakistan and Turkmenistan, indeed, the northern areas of Pakistan and central Asia. They have many cultural similarities,” a guest from Gilgit said.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2015