Our man in China first for Pakistan
JAMAICA’S ambassador to China, Wayne McCook, is Jamaica’s first high commissioner to Pakistan, the sister Commonwealth country with whom the island established diplomatic relations 44 years ago, the foreign ministry has announced.
High Commissioner McCook recently presented his credentials to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in a brief ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Islamabad, Pakistan.
In welcoming the high commissioner, President Musharraf noted the shared background and interests of the two countries, in particular the strong cricketing tradition, membership in the Commonwealth and commitments to the multilateral system.
Musharraf expressed the view that cricket diplomacy could help to deepen the links between the two countries and between Pakistan and the countries of the Caribbean as a whole.
But it was not immediately ascertained if the two men discussed the sensational death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer who was found unconscious in his hotel room in Kingston on March 18, right after Pakistan lost a crucial Cricket World Cup match to newcomers Ireland. Woolmer died later at hospital, setting off a media frenzy that all but overshadowed the tournament.
President Musharraf also used the meeting with McCook to reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to contributing to the multilateral system, especially in the area of peacekeeping where it is the world’s largest troop contributor to operations in various missions.
McCook, also Jamaica’s first ambassador to China, is based in Beijing, the Chinese capital where he is quickly establishing a Jamaican presence in a country with the world’s fastest growing economy.
Caribbean journalists who recently visited China were impressed with the fact that McCook’s name was quickly recognised at the Chinese foreign ministry where promises were made to provide information being sought through the ambassador.
Jamaica is the only Caribbean Community country with a trade balance in its favour with China, led by exports of alumina which reached 868,470 tons in 2006, or 53.2 per cent over the previous year.
