GRADUATION CEREMONY OF TRILATERAL CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP FOR DIPLOMATS FROM AFGHANISTAN, CHINA AND PAKISTAN AT THE FOREIGN SERVICE ACADEMY, ISLAMABAD

The graduation ceremony of 2-week long trilateral diplomatic workshop was held at the Foreign Service Academy on 01 November 2019. Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Mr. Shafqat Mahmood was the Chief Guest of the workshop. Foreign Secretary Mr. Sohail Mahmood, senior officers of the Foreign Ministry and retried Ambassadors attended the ceremony. The Federal Minister distributed the certificates among the participants.

Mr. Shafqat Mahmood, in his address said that the trilateral forum was an excellent step towards building bonds of friendship and cooperation among Pakistan, China and Afghanistan. He also underlined the importance of diplomacy as fundamental tool to promote and strengthen relations. Appreciating the efforts of the three governments for taking the initiative, he added that Afghan and Chinese Diplomats will always be ambassadors of Pakistan in their respective countries.

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Pakistan H.E.Yao Jing, appreciated the efforts of the Government of Pakistan in organizing the trilateral workshop. Besides close ties with Afghanistan, he said that China-Pakistan friendship will be getting broader and brighter in the days to come.

Ambassador Aftab Ahmad Khokher, Director General of the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) said that the workshop provided a unique networking opportunity and helped to create better understanding of Pakistan’s foreign policy and conducive economic environment in Pakistan. He said that FSA was imparting training not only for Pakistani diplomats but also for the Foreign diplomats since 1981 and had trained over 1400 FSP officers and 1372 diplomats from 107 Countries. He congratulated the participants on becoming part of FSA Alumni.

In vote of thanks, the diplomats from Afghanistan and China said that this workshop would create a network between three countries and help in strengthening bonds of durable relations. They also said that the workshop was a testimony of the strong desire and commitment of the Government of Pakistan to strengthen relations within the Trilateral Framework. They also stated that all the participating diplomats benefited from the experience and knowledge of senior Pakistani diplomats, eminent scholars and personalities.

Thirty-six diplomats participated in the workshop i.e. 6 from Afghanistan, 7 from People’s Republic of China and 23 from Pakistan. This was the first such workshop hosted by Pakistan under the Trilateral Dialogue.

Islamabad
01 November 2019

463/2019