Independence Day of Maldives observed

Maldivian Ambassador Ahmed Saleen hosted a reception to mark Maldives’ Independence Day at the Marriott Hotel last Thursday.

Interim interior minister Mohammad Azam Khan was invited as the chief guest.

In their speeches, the ambassador and minister emphasised the cordial ties between Maldives, a small country in the Indian Ocean with barely half a million

people, and Pakistan, a large country with a population of over 200 million, which are both equal members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

“The friendly atmosphere at the reception reminded me of the Maldives as a tourist destination,” said a guest who had visited the island country a few years ago.

“Tourism counts for a third of the country’s share of GDP and two-thirds of its foreign exchange earnings. Yet, fishing remains the main occupation of the people,” she explained.

Morocco celebrates national day

A large reception to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the ascension to the throne of King Mohammed VI of Morocco was hosted by Moroccan Ambassador Mohamad Karmoune at the Serena Hotel.

The king of Morocco holds more executive power than most other royal heads of state today. The chief guest at the event was Mohammad Yusuf Sheikh, the interim minister of health.

Embassy staff and other Moroccan guests were dressed in national dresses, giving the event an elegant and exotic flair.

A guest explained that of the North African countries, she favoured Morocco because of its mixture of cultures, being local, African, Berber, Arab and Muslim, all in one, with European influences too because it situated near Spain.

“With its large population of well over 35m people and a territory just a bit smaller than Pakistan, it is a significant country,” explained the guest.

The dinner that was served consisted of Moroccan and Pakistani mains, a variety of Moroccan sweets, spicy tea and coffee.

Russian envoy speaks at IPRI

Russian Ambassador Alevey Y. Dedov delivered the July lecture at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) last week, under the institute’s new monthly Ambassador Lecture event.

Unlike other talks by foreign envoys, these lectures are supposed to go on longer and go into greater detail, with ample time for questions and answers afterwards. Mr Dedov’s lecture was titled ‘Pakistan-Russia Relations: Is There a New Trajectory?’

The lecture was attended by more than a dozen retired Pakistani ambassadors, as well as foreign envoys and diplomats and academics of all ages.

After the highly-praised lecture, a guest joked with an embassy staffer than she must have been very busy before the lecture, retrieving and checking on the many details it had contained.

“I was indeed impressed with so much condensed history and current information given in a lecture,” the guest said.

Young staffers from a think tank echoed the praise, but said they missed more opinions from the ambassador himself, things that one cannot Google.

Ambassador Dedov highlighted the close ties between Russia and Pakistan, and he mentioned that the annual trade volume of around $400m between the two countries had grown markedly recently. He also discussed cooperation between Russia and China.

The lecture was hosted by IPRI President Abdul Basit, a former Pakistani ambassador.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2018