Khar becomes first female foreign minister of Pakistan
Will head a delegation for minister-level talks to India next week.
ISLAMABAD:
Hina Rabbani Khar took oath on Tuesday as the foreign minister, becoming the first Pakistani woman to be appointed to the position.
At a ceremony held at the President House, acting president Farooq H Naek administered the oath to Khar as the 26th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.
Khar, 34, will now head the Pakistani delegation to India for the ministerial-level talks scheduled to begin in New Delhi on July 26.
Khar’s first assignment will be the 18th session of the Association for South East Asian Nations (Asean) regional forum to be held in Indonesia later this week. At the sidelines of the conference, Khar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Khar met Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal at the Foreign Office on Tuesday. Sabharwal told Khar that Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is looking forward to her visit to India.
Khar said that the dialogue process should be uninterrupted and uninterruptable. “Ensuring cooperative relations with countries of the region is at the forefront of Pakistan’s foreign policy,” she told the Indian envoy.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2011.
Hina Rabbani Khar took oath on Tuesday as the foreign minister, becoming the first Pakistani woman to be appointed to the position.
At a ceremony held at the President House, acting president Farooq H Naek administered the oath to Khar as the 26th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.
Khar, 34, will now head the Pakistani delegation to India for the ministerial-level talks scheduled to begin in New Delhi on July 26.
Khar’s first assignment will be the 18th session of the Association for South East Asian Nations (Asean) regional forum to be held in Indonesia later this week. At the sidelines of the conference, Khar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Khar met Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal at the Foreign Office on Tuesday. Sabharwal told Khar that Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is looking forward to her visit to India.
Khar said that the dialogue process should be uninterrupted and uninterruptable. “Ensuring cooperative relations with countries of the region is at the forefront of Pakistan’s foreign policy,” she told the Indian envoy.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2011.