Ex-ambassador to Pakistan to receive award
By Yi Whan-woo
Song Jong-hwan
Former Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Song Jong-hwan will receive a presidential award from Pakistan on Aug. 12, the Pakistani Embassy in Korea announced last week.
It said Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Rahim Hayat Qureshi will present the award, “Sitara-e-Pakistan,” on behalf of President Mamnoon Hussain to honor Song’s contributions to bilateral relations during his ambassadorship from 2013 to 2016.
He will be the first Korean to receive such honor.
The ceremony will take place during a festival in Incheon to mark the 71st anniversary of Pakistan’s independence from Great Britain.
“Song is going to be the first Korean to get this award and he is also going to be one of the very few foreigners who get this award from Pakistan,” the embassy said in a statement, adding he helped bolster bilateral trade as well as cooperation in culture, education and other sectors. “This award will strengthen the relationship of Pakistan and Korea from all aspects especially from economic and people-to-people social and cultural relationship and lead both countries closer to be brother-nations.”
It especially noted that Song facilitated Korea’s establishment of an information technology park in Islamabad during his tenure.
Referring to Pakistan’s campaign for Korean investments, the embassy said the award will also show that “Pakistan wants Korea to stand with her on the path to a rapid economic growth.”
Meanwhile, the festival, called “Azadi Mela,” is expected to attract over 200 international guests, including ambassadors in Korea, according to the embassy.
The embassy and the Pakistan Business Association Korea will jointly host the event.
This year’s event, unlike previous years, will run throughout the day and will feature traditional foods, costumes, handicrafts, music and dance from the two countries.
The two sides established diplomatic relations in 1983.