Farewell given to Sri Lankan envoy

Islamabad
To bid farewell to the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Air Chief Marshal (r) Jayalath Weerakkody and spouse Kumari; Head of Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Lars Wigemark and Rebekah Wigemark and the ambassador of Brazil, CEO Serena Hotels, Aziz Boolani and Mrs Waqar Boolani hosted a dinner at their residence.
It was attended, among others, by Chief of Protocol Moin-ul-Haque and Mrs Moin; a number of EU envoys and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Rodolfo Martin-Saravia.
Since the weather is so pleasant these days and flowers are blooming, dining arrangements had been made out in the lawn, with beautifully laid tables and soft live music on tabla and sitar. Tables had been named after the countries of the guests of honour and two new envoys, with a thoughtful placing of guests at each table.
Addressing the gathering after a delicious meal, the host thanked everyone for accepting his invitation. Addressing his Sri Lankan guest he thanked him for his support to Serena initiatives during his six year stay and said he would be missed. He then thanked Ambassador Lars and his wife Rebekah for their support to Serena initiatives falling under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) banner. “We will miss you and wish you well for the future,” he said after which he welcomed the ambassador of France, Martine Dorance and the ambassador of Austria, Brigitta Blaha who are fairly new in town. Mementos were then presented to their guests of honour.
The high commissioner of Sri Lanka thanked the host for the get-together and his friends for attending but admitted that he had been asked by his government to stay on for another month or so because some important visitors from his country would be visiting Pakistan in the near future. “My wife and I have enjoyed our stay in Pakistan and we will miss all our friends,” he said. “We will be carrying happy memories with us when we go back home.”
Lars Wigemark also thanked the host and said Serena was doing a great job with its CSR programme, which involved the diplomatic community as well. Adding that the Serena provided a safe and comfortable venue for various activities organised by the community he concluded by saying that he and his wife will miss Pakistan and all their friends.
This was not the end of the evening. It was Irshadullah Khan’s birthday, so the guests sang ‘happy birthday’ when he cut a cake, while Rebekah Wigemark was requested to sing a few songs. She promptly sat down near the musicians, who accompanied her when she sang and played the guitar, with the beautiful number ‘Blowing in the Wind,’ getting the loudest applause. Later she was joined by artist Muniba Mazari, the Australian high commissioner, Peter Heyward and her husband Lars and the guests were treated to an impromptu concert. Thus this memorable evening ended on a high note before guests said their goodbyes.