“I have thoroughly enjoyed through my three years in Pakistan,” said Norwegian Ambassador Cecilie Landsverk at a gathering organised by the Pakistan-Norway Association.

The ambassador still has some weeks to go in Pakistan before a summer break when she will be leaving for Iceland, the smallest of the five Nordic countries.

“But belonging to a Nordic country, it is prestigious to be posted to one of the other Nordic countries,” a Norwegian participant at the gathering explained.

“A sportswoman like ambassador Cecilie will certainly find outdoor activities in Iceland, too, like she has found in Pakistan, including skiing in Swat, hiking in the Neelum Valley, trekking in the northern areas or just walking up to the top of the Margalla Hills in Islamabad.”

Showing private photos on the screen from her ambassadorship in Pakistan, Ambassador Cecilie allowed the participants to be privy to memories that she will carry with her from her stay in Pakistan.

The first pictures she showed were of people affected by the floods in Sindh in the autumn of 2011. It was evident that to be an ambassador from a rich country like Norway had quite a bit to do with assisting a country like Pakistan with humanitarian and development aid in times of need.

The ambassador underlined the importance of Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage and wanted Pakistanis to feel proud of it.

Emanuel Sjoberg, 13, played a beautiful Norwegian folk song on violin, followed by a Swedish tune popular all over European, noting that, after all, the event took place last Friday, which was Sweden's National Day.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2014