PESHAWAR: Richard H. Riley has assumed his role as the United States Consul General in Peshawar on Sept 14, 2021.

Consul General Riley is a career diplomat with the rank of minister counsellor. He most recently served as the chargé d’affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Oslo, Norway.

“I am looking forward to continuing to build on the strong relationship between our two countries as we work towards a sustainable bilateral relationship and a secure region,” he said after assuming his role at the Consulate General.

Mr Riley’s extensive diplomatic career includes service as the assistant chief of mission at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and two previous tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Other senior US Department of State leadership positions have included deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy Sana’a, Yemen (2015-17), and principal officer/consul general for Atlantic Canada at the US Consulate General in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (2012-15).

He served two tours of duty in Iraq, first as leader of the US-Italian PRT in Nassiriyah province (2006-07), followed by service as the US senior coordinator for democracy and human rights in Iraq (2007-08) at the US Embassy, Baghdad.

Mr Riley has studied Pashto, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Russian and French.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2021