Islamabad To bid farewell to two envoys — Head of Delegation, European Union, Ambassador Lars Gunnar Wigemark and the Ambassador of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ro Kyong Chol, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Argentina, Rodolfo Martin-Saravia hosted a noon time reception at the Argentine Embassy. The event was attended by many senior diplomats or their representatives, while some ‘better halves’ were also present to add their support. Addressing the gathering, the Dean commended Ambassador Wigemark for his leadership role in the EU community of Islamabad since the past four years, listing some of his achievements. He also recognized the role of Rebekah Wigemark in promoting Pakistani cultural traditions by opening up her house to various cultural organisations. Here I may add she is a dedicated supporter of human rights as well, and has done a lot of work in this field. For his North Korean colleague he had words of appreciation for his interaction with Pakistanis and the diplomatic community, always with a pleasant smile! Lars Wigemark thanked the Dean for hosting the reception and the guests for attending, adding that it always seemed his time to say goodbye was far away when he bid farewell to colleagues that have left but his turn has eventually come. He gave a fairly lengthy response about the work of the EU during his tenure and its success — or not — and the concerns the EU has on certain steps the government has taken in recent times that are in conflict with the EU doctrine. He had words of praise for Pakistanis, their hospitality and their resilience and concluded by wishing the country peace and prosperity. Ambassador Chol thanked the Dean for hosting the reception in his honour and said his tenure in Pakistan had been memorable because of his cooperation and the hospitality of the local people. He concluded by wishing all his colleagues a happy and successful future. In such gatherings there is always a touch of humour and regret and so it was this time — humour in shared incidents and experiences and regret at knowing that an envoy’s tenure has come to an end, especially if he/she is a socially interactive person.
