Ambassador Masood Khan and Mayor Tim Keller
Ambassador Masood Khan Makes Official Visit to Albuquerque
By Elaine Pasquini
Washington: On September 1, 2023, Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, made the first ever visit by any ambassador from Pakistan to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Ambassador Khan thanked Albuquerque’s mayor, Tim Keller, for the “swift action” taken in the murder last month of Muhammad Afzal Hussein of Pakistani descent. Albuquerque law enforcement’s actions, he said, “reflected your respect for diversity and integrating minorities into the mainstream” in New Mexico’s largest city.
Welcoming Pakistan’s top diplomat in the US to his city, Mayor Keller said the killings were tragic and such violent actions had no place in Albuquerque. He expressed his appreciation for the contributions of the Pakistani diaspora, calling them an integral component of New Mexico’s diverse society.
The city’s police chief of the homicide department stated that swift apprehension of the culprit was the result of the joint efforts of the police and the community.
In their meeting, Ambassador Khan and Mayor Keller also discussed trade ties and people-to-people relations between Pakistan and New Mexico, which would have a positive multilayer effect on the relationship. “Pakistan and the United States have strong ties at the federal level, but it is equally important to have a relationship with states and the people,” Khan said.
Earlier this year, the US state of Georgia and Pakistan’s Sindh province established a sister state-province relationship. On January 9, 2023, a sister relationship agreement between Punjab province and California was signed at the California State Capitol building in Sacramento. Ambassador Khan and former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani attended the signing ceremony along with representatives of Northern California’s large Pakistani-American community.
In addition, the ambassador pointed out, Karachi and Houston share a sister city relationship which could serve as a blueprint for establishing similar arrangements between Pakistan and New Mexico or with Albuquerque, its largest city, for strengthening economic ties and promoting people-to-people contacts.
“We must develop relations between New Mexico and Pakistan in one form or the other,” he stressed.
During the meeting, the ambassador mentioned that the two sides could also explore untapped potential cooperation in mining, agriculture, telemedicine, pharmaceuticals, and other priority sectors for Pakistan.
Referring to the existing trade volume between New Mexico and Pakistan which currently stood at nearly $4 million, Ambassador Khan termed it far below the actual potential.
The diplomat also highlighted the close working relationship between Pakistan and the United States in various areas, including climate change, renewable energy, oil, gas, minerals, trade, investment and promoting people-to-people exchanges. Bilateral collaboration in extractive industries and mountaineering, he added, could catalyze a symbiotic relationship between Pakistan and New Mexico.
Ambassador Khan expressed his appreciation to the US administration, Department of State and other authorities for their commitment to work with Pakistan in critically important areas of mutual benefit.
Lastly, Ambassador Khan invited Mayor Keller to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience and expressed hope that a visit would help translate a vision of enhanced ties with Albuquerque into reality.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
