Embassy-Community interaction holds its fourth round – several initiatives announced
Embassy-Community interaction holds its fourth round – several initiatives announcedThe Fourth Embassy-Community Quarterly Meeting was held at Pakistan House on 8 May 2010 to discuss community welfare issues. The institutionalized quarterly interaction between the Embassy and the Pakistani-Dutch community are a part of Embassy’s commitment to serve the Pakistani Diaspora in the Netherlands. The representatives of various welfare organizations, prominent community leaders and businessmen in the Netherlands attended the meeting, which was chaired by Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.
The meeting discussed a wide range of issues from consular services particularly new procedure for online visa application to upgraded Embassy website to cultural, sports, and commercial activities/events planned by the Embassy and Community during 2010.
Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry briefed the participants on the growing trajectory of Pakistan-Netherlands bilateral relations. The first-ever annual political bilateral consultations between the two governments will be held this summer.
The Ambassador also briefed about new initiatives for improvement of consular services particularly the online visa application system. This system will offer multiple benefits: for the Embassy it will reduce paperwork and improve data management; and for the applicants it will result in fast visa processing. It is a work in progress and in due course most of consular services will be automated for efficiency and effective service delivery. The Ambassador lauded the complimentary services of Mr. Sohail Raza of Webciters, who demonstrated the new online visa project and the upgradws Embassy website.
The participants noted that the coming quarter would feature a number of cultural and sports events, notably Pakistan Mela 2010 (6 June), 20th Pakistan Ambassador Cricket Cup (16 June), 22nd Pakistan Ambassador Hockey Trophy (25 June), and Pakistani Mango Exhibition (2 July) which are being organized jointly by the Embassy and Community.
A special briefing was given by the Commercial Counsellor on Pakistan Mela 2010, which will be the first ever cultural event on grand scale aimed at bringing together Pakistani and other communities living in the Netherlands, showcasing Pakistan’s rich culture, and providing a fun-full day of sports, music, and food to Pakistani community.
The Ambassador requested the Community to participate actively in the cultural and sports program to help project the soft image of Pakistan in the Netherlands.
The participants greatly appreciated the planned cultural and sports projects/events particularly the Pakistan Festival and assured their full cooperation for these events. The Community representatives thanked the Ambassador for steering this dialogue and coordination between the Embassy and the Community.
The Fifth Embassy-Community Quarterly Meeting (ECQM-V) will be held in July 2010.
Embassy of Pakistan The Hague
9 May 2010
