Ambassador Jemal Beker lauded for bringing Ethiopian airline to Pakistan, exchange of business delegations
Islamabad
The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has declared Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia the best ambassador.
The honour is bestowed on the ambassador for his key role in bringing the two nations closer within a short span of time.
ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari announced the award while delivering a speech during Ethiopia-Pakistan Business Forum.
Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, the Chief Guest, presented the ‘best ambassador’ award to the Ethiopian envoy.
Syed Naveed Qamar congratulated the ambassador and termed him a dynamic, dedicated diplomat who has become popular not only with the government officials, MoFA but also with the business community and people of Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari lauded Jemal Beker for exchange of business delegations between Ethiopia and Pakistan.
“He has done wonderful job for direct flights between Pakistan and Ethiopia within a short time. Therefore, we again today honour him as the best and most effective ambassador in Islamabad,” Bakhtawari remarked.
Ambassador Jemal Beker extended gratitude for the ICCI leadership for honouring him with the best ambassador title and vowed more efforts and initiatives for strengthening Ethiopia and Pakistan bilateral relations.
This is an honour for me as the first ambassador of Ethiopia to bring Africa’s biggest airline to Pakistan, said the ambassador adding the Ethiopian Airlines would be instrumental in boosting business-to-business and people-to-people relations between both the countries.
The ambassador in his vote of thanks said Pakistan-Ethiopia bilateral relations were in honeymoon period and were set to transition into normal diplomatic ties.
The ambassador particularly mentioned the Sindh government, Chief Minister Syed Murad Shah and his cabinet members for reaching Karachi airport to welcome the maiden Ethiopian flight in the midnight.
The Ethiopian Airline is the biggest pan-African airline with more than 160 destinations, he said and termed air link between the two great nations would unleash huge economic potential between the private and public sectors of the two countries.
Ambassador Beker had made history by taking a big delegation (more than 70 Pakistani businessmen and trade representative) in the first week of March this year to Ethiopia. This he made possible within six months of joining as the head of the Ethiopian mission in Islamabad.
The business delegation has termed the visit very fruitful as they held important meetings with the Ethiopian leadership and the business community there.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI former president Zafar Bakhtawari said the Pakistani business delegation not only held important meetings, they also enjoyed hospitality and generosity of the Ethiopian government and the people.
We met Prime Minister of Ethiopia and were hosted by Foreign Minister Ambassador Mesganu Arega, said Bakhtawari. Ambassador Mesganu Arega was in Pakistan earlier this month to open Embassy of Ethiopia in Pakistan. He also met Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and State Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to establish a comprehensive mechanism to further strengthen the rapidly growing bilateral ties by enhancing bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation in diverse fields.
While reciprocating the Pakistani business community’s maiden visit, the Ethiopian business delegation (60-memeber) also arrived in Islamabad earlier this month to advance bilateral and multilateral cooperation in diverse fields and to further strengthen relations between the two countries.
The 60-member delegation comprised representatives of three major ministries including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Regional Integration Ministry and Innovation Technology as well as high officials of the Investment Commission of Ethiopia and Industrial Park Development Corporation.
The credit for this active diplomacy goes to the matchless efforts, energy and dedication of the ambassador, said the ICCI former president Zafar Bakhtawari.
