A farewell ceremony was held on Wednesday for outgoing French Ambassador to Pakistan Nicolas Galle and Consul General in Karachi Alexis Chatahtinsky as they completed their diplomatic assignments in the country.
The event came following the announcement that the French Consulate General in Karachi would permanently close after decades of operation.
Members of the diplomatic community, business leaders, academics, intellectuals and other prominent figures attended the ceremony, organised in collaboration with the Board of Management of the Quaid-e-Azam House Museum and the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR).
Speaking at the event, KCFR Chairman Ikram Sehgal praised the contributions of both French diplomats and highlighted the breadth of relations between Pakistan and France.
He said bilateral ties extended beyond government-to-government engagement to areas including trade, investment, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people relations.
Sehgal said Galle and Chatahtinsky had played an important role in strengthening France’s engagement with Pakistan’s business and academic communities and in fostering closer relations between the peoples of the two countries.
He noted that while diplomatic assignments eventually came to an end, the relationships and friendships developed during such postings often endured.
Sehgal expressed hope that both diplomats would continue to serve as goodwill ambassadors for Pakistan-France relations after completing their assignments.