Thursday March 31, 2022
Islamabad : Ambassador of Somalia to Pakistan Khadija
Mohamed Almakhzoumi has said she was leaving Pakistan on a positive note and
when relations between the two countries were on an upward trajectory. She made
these remarks while speaking on the occasion of farewell lunch hosted by Zafar
Bakhtawari, says a press release.
Ambassadors of African countries as well as former senators
and businessmen attended the lunch. Besides, officials from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs were also present on the occasion.
Ambassador Khadija is leaving Pakistan after six years as
she has been elected as Member of Somali Parliament. She said she would happily
like to serve as Pakistan’s ambassador to Somalia.
‘As Somali Ambassador to Pakistan, I considered my role was
to facilitate the contacts between the players in the economic field, to get
them to know each other better and also to interconnect in a better way’ and I
am pleased to announce that I was able to bring peoples of both countries even
closer’.
She further said, in 1969, Pakistan and Somalia were among
the founding members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Somalia’s relations with Pakistan remained strong in the following years and
through the ensuing civil war period, when the Pakistani military contributed
to a UN peacekeeping operation in southern Somalia.
The host, Zafar Bakhtawari in his speech paid rich tributes
to the outgoing ambassador and recognized her services which she rendered for
promotion and strengthening of bilateral relations.
He said, during her tenure a number of milestones were
achieved. Former Senator Abdul Qayyum also spoke on the occasion and expressed
best wishes for Ambassador Khadija for her future role as a parliamentarian.