WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden in a brief conversation with Pakistan’s Ambassador Sardar Masood Khan expressed his desire to build a strong foundation for taking forward relations between the two countries.
According to a statement issued by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, Ambassador Masood Khan had visited the White House on Monday to meet and greet the US President.
“Sardar Masood Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, went to the White House to meet and greet President Joe Biden and took an official photo. [taken] With them it’s an established tradition in Washington DC to have newly appointed envoys here.”
During the ceremony, the US President and the Pakistani envoy had a brief conversation on “building a strong foundation for advancing US-Pakistan relations”.
Apart from the Pakistani diplomat, 46 other ambassadors were also present there to take an official picture with the US President one by one. He too was unable to meet the President for over a year due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
It is worth noting that Ambassador Masood Khan arrived in Washington DC on March 25. His credentials were received that day by the US Chief of Protocol and he was designated as an “appointed ambassador”.
On 19 April, Ambassador Khan’s credentials were formally accepted by President Joe Biden.
“The official picture completes all the formalities,” the statement said.