New US ambassador calls on army chief at GHQ
ISPR says matters of mutual interest, including regional security situation, were discussed during meeting
PHOTO: ISPR / AFP
Ambassador-designate of the United States to Pakistan David M Hale met Army chief General Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
“David Hale visited GHQ today and called on Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif,” military’s media wing ISPR said in a statement.
Matters of mutual interest, including regional security situation, were discussed during the meeting between the army chief and the US ambassador, the press release added.
US envoy: Hale presents credentials to president
Hale’s visit comes a day after he presented his credentials to President Mamnoon Hussain at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. Later, the president felicitated the newly appointed ambassador to Pakistan and hoped that he would work for further cementing the existing ties between Pakistan and the US.
Hale has replaced Richard Olsen, who has now been appointed as US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Hale’s arrival in Islamabad had been announced by the US embassy in Pakistan last month. “After presenting his credentials, David Hale will begin working with his Pakistani counterparts and Pakistani people to strengthen US-Pakistan relations, increasing trade between the two countries, further enhancing the security partnership, and advancing the broad agenda laid out by President Obama and PM Sharif when they met in Washington on October 22, 2015,” an embassy statement had said.
Hale is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. He served as ambassador to the Lebanese Republic from 2013 to 2015. Prior to that, he was the special envoy for Middle East Peace (2011-2013), deputy special envoy for Middle East Peace (2009-11), and US ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2005-8). Hale has also served in Tunisia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
New US ambassador arrives in Islamabad
In Washington, Hale was the deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel, Egypt and the Levant, director for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and executive assistant to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In 2013, Secretary Clinton presented Hale with the Distinguished Service Award. Fluent in Arabic, Hale is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
“David Hale visited GHQ today and called on Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif,” military’s media wing ISPR said in a statement.
Matters of mutual interest, including regional security situation, were discussed during the meeting between the army chief and the US ambassador, the press release added.
US envoy: Hale presents credentials to president
Hale’s visit comes a day after he presented his credentials to President Mamnoon Hussain at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. Later, the president felicitated the newly appointed ambassador to Pakistan and hoped that he would work for further cementing the existing ties between Pakistan and the US.
Hale has replaced Richard Olsen, who has now been appointed as US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Hale’s arrival in Islamabad had been announced by the US embassy in Pakistan last month. “After presenting his credentials, David Hale will begin working with his Pakistani counterparts and Pakistani people to strengthen US-Pakistan relations, increasing trade between the two countries, further enhancing the security partnership, and advancing the broad agenda laid out by President Obama and PM Sharif when they met in Washington on October 22, 2015,” an embassy statement had said.
Hale is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. He served as ambassador to the Lebanese Republic from 2013 to 2015. Prior to that, he was the special envoy for Middle East Peace (2011-2013), deputy special envoy for Middle East Peace (2009-11), and US ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2005-8). Hale has also served in Tunisia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
New US ambassador arrives in Islamabad
In Washington, Hale was the deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel, Egypt and the Levant, director for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and executive assistant to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In 2013, Secretary Clinton presented Hale with the Distinguished Service Award. Fluent in Arabic, Hale is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.