WASHINGTON: Pakis­tan’s Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has presented his credentials to President Donald Trump.

Mr Chaudhry, who presented the credentials at a simple ceremony at the White House on Monday, was nominated in mid-February, but took charge of his office on March 13.

While presenting his credentials, the ambassador conveyed Pakistan’s best wishes to President Trump, who recently completed 100 days in office.

Mr Chaudhry also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening friendly relations with the US.

“He is one of our best diplomats and that’s why we sent him to Washington,” said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while disclosing the news at a ceremony at the embassy. “We value our friendship with the US and will continue to work with Washington in promoting peace and stability in the region.”

Mr Chaudhry is a career diplomat and before coming to Washington, was the foreign secretary from December 2013 to March 2017. He also served as the spokesperson of the foreign ministry.

In the ministry, he served as additional foreign secretary for the United Nations and disarmament affairs and as director general for South Asia, during which he remained closely associated with the peace process with India.

His other overseas assignments include ambassador to the Netherlands, deputy permanent representative to the UN in New York and Chef de Cabinet to the secretary general of the Economic Cooperation Organisation in Tehran. He also served at Pakistan’s missions in Doha and Cairo.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2017