Norwegian envoy bids farewell

Tore Nedrebø and his wife Anne Dessington held a reception in their residence to bid farewell to friends and colleagues. Mr Nedrebø began his speech by offering congratulations on Pakistan’s recent elections. He said he had enjoyed his three years in Pakistan, especially the two last years after his wife, who is an educationist, had joined him in Islamabad.

He said that the Norwegian embassy in Islamabad is quite big, much due to the important Pakistani diaspora in Norway, and also the increase in trade and investment in Pakistan; the Norwegian company Telenor now having over 40 million customers in Pakistan. “In number of staff, the Islamabad embassy is a bit bigger than the London embassy”, Mr Nedrebø said.

Having begun dealing with European issues in the Foreign Office in Oslo, and also having written two academic dissertations on such issues, Mr Nedrebø said he was now returning to deal with Europe and in particular Germany in his new post at home. The acting German ambassador cheered at this.

“When we leave Pakistan on a direct PIA flight to Oslo, we will be able to celebrate our joint birthday onboard”, Mr Nedrebø joked. This prompted all the guests to sing “Happy birthday”, led by rights activist Tahira Abdulla.

Mr Nedrebø said that his successor Kjell-Gunnar Eriksen will arrive in Pakistan on the next PIA flight. He has recently served in Afghanistan and the Afghan desk in Oslo.

And then it was dinner time, with Pakistani dishes, Norwegian salmon, cured meat and more.

Chinese ambassador speaks at seminar

Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing was speaker at a large seminar organized by the Institute for Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad recently, held at the ISSI Library Hall. The topic of the seminar was “Crossroads of Regional Integration’, and the new IRS President Dr Rukhhsana Qambar chaired the event. The introductory lecture was given by Dr. Rifaat Hussain, a retired Quaid-i-Azam University professor and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) in Sri Lanka.

The keynote address was given by Barrister Ali Zafar, interim minister for broadcasting, information and national heritage.

Several foreign ambassadors and other diplomats attended the seminar including former ambassador to the USA, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.

“Although some of the speakers on the panel and from the floor were indeed academic in their reasoning about issues, I was glad to listen to the practical approach the Chinese ambassador seems to take”, said a foreign participant.

Mr Zafar stressed that in all regional cooperation there will be take and give. “All must win and gain. That is always how agreements must be made. But for anything to succeed, peace is paramount”, he said.

“It seems all want more and closer cooperation in Asia and beyond, and China is the locomotive, and in Pakistan CPEC is the cornerstone. But there are also other large partners and groups of countries which we must remember, including Russia and Central Asia”, said a guest.

The event was concluded by a lunch under a hugetent in the light rains in the garden. “The food wasn’t regional but indeed local, and it was delicious”, said a foreign guest.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018