AIT Pres. hosts farewell dinner
On 1 February 2006, AIT President Said Irandoust, hosted a farewell dinner for Mr. Nafees Zakaria (above right), Head of Chancery/ Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the occasion of the completion of his term. The occasion was also held to welcome the new Counselor, Mr. Ameer Khurram Rathore.
Mr. Zakaria has been instrumental in strengthening the partnership between the government of Pakistan and AIT. His support to the mission and vision of AIT has resulted in the increase in the collaboration with Pakistan's Higher Education Commission, which since 2003 has supported scholars pursuing their master's and doctoral degrees at AIT in various fields of study.
On behalf of AIT, Prof. Irandoust expressed his appreciation for Mr. Zakaria's contribution to AIT's continuing efforts to human resource development in the region. The president also mentioned that as Pakistan is a founding member of AIT, it is important that the cooperation be translated into more joint initiations and that the support of the embassy is important to the institution.
Mr. Zakaria mentioned that it was a pleasure working closely with AIT and that he was pleased with the outcome of his efforts to strengthen the cooperation between his government and AIT. He assured AIT the embassy would continue to support the institute and he was very positive about the establishment of the AIT center in Pakistan.
Also present at the farewell were Mrs. Irandoust, Mrs. Zakaria, Prof. Vilas Wuwongse, vice president -- external relations and Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, head, External Relations & Communications Office.
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