The dean of the diplomatic corps, Kazakh Ambassador Bakhitbek Shabarbayev, hosted a lunch reception attended by all the other foreign envoys, to bid farewell to Romanian Ambassaodr Emilian Ion, who served in Pakistan for seven and a half years. In his last years of service, Mr Ion also served as the dean of the European diplomatic group.

In his speech, Mr. Ion said he considered Pakistan his second home country, and he would leave with very good memories from his time here.

He emphasised the importance of an increase in civilian and military cooperation between Romania and Pakistan, with trade having now reached around $300 million annually. He also expressed pride regarding the increase in official visits between the two countries, as well as cultural and educational exchanges.

“I will return home to Romania, hoping for another posting abroad before retirement. I wouldn’t mind going back to Sub-Saharan Africa, where I served when I was young, and I found the continent fascinating,” he said.

The same evening, a reception was hosted for Mr Ian by Mian Fazal Elahi, the publisher and editor of Diplomatic Focus magazine. The chief guest at the event was Rana Tanveer Hussain, the federal minister for defence production. The dinner was also attended by additional foreign secretary Iffat Imran Gardezi, Pakistan’s ambassador designate to the Netherlands.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2016