Farewell reception for envoys
Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Rodolfo Martin Saravia hosted a farewell reception for German Ambassador Cyrill Jean Nunn, Polish envoy Andrzej Ananicz and the Ambassador of Denmark Jesper Moller Sorensen.
Ambassador Ananicz, who was injured in the Naltar tragedy, was unable to attend due to final medical tests and checkup, while both Ambassador Nunn and Sorenson were present.
Mr Saravia, who has been in Pakistan for over a decade as the Argentine ambassador, had invited diplomats, development sector personnel and members of the media to the event.
The fact that the departing ambassadors have been amazingly active and productive during their tenures in Pakistan had made them very popular.
The dean said: “I am grateful to all of you for coming to bid farewell to our dear friends and colleagues in the afternoon during Ramazan. Cyrill’s departure is scheduled for exactly a day after his three-year term as ambassador has ended and this truly is an example of German precision. Jesper’s departure is unexpected but he has also completed two years in Pakistan.”
Dr Nunn thanked the dean for his hospitality and said: “It is the first time I have been ambassador so you are the first dean I have experienced but I am certain you will be unstoppable. My successor, the first lady ambassador from Germany to Pakistan, will be here within a week.”
Ambassador Jesper said: “When I arrived Rodolfo did not talk about the difficulties but talked immediately of solutions and opportunities. As I leave I just want to make a very simple and basic statement which is that Pakistan is a very important country in an important region and what happens here affects not only lives in Pakistan and the region but has an impact on our lives far away. This is why our engagement helps make that impact positive and constructive.”
The dean then presented the departing ambassadors with beautiful wooden chests handcrafted in Pakistan as a reminder of their stay in Pakistan.
French National Day celebrated
It couldn’t have been more elegant and pleasant, and indeed French,” said a guest at the French National Day (July 14), celebrated in a hotel in Islamabad, decorated with wide chiffon ribbon in the colours of the French flag hanging from the ceiling.
There were flower decorations, posters and even a huge chocolate cake shaped as the Eiffel Tower, so that the guests could literally have a taste of France as the evening went on.
The best known monument of Paris and France was completed in 1889 for the World’s Fair and to mark the centennial of the French Revolution in 1789, when the Bastille was invaded, the monarchy overthrown and France’s democracy began. The national day is known as the Bastille Day or in French more commonly, ‘La Fête nationale’.
Ambassador Martine Dorance received numerous applauses during her speech in Urdu, French and English. And the chief guest, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce Khurram Dastangir Khan could not have been more happy and agree more with the ambassador about the great potential that exists for expansion of export to France, and also for Pakistan hosting more French companies. Attention was also drawn to the important international climate change conference to be held in France later this year.
Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2015
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