H.E. the Argentine Ambassador, Rodolfo J. Martin-Saravia, celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Independence Revolution of Argentina with a magnificent reception in the Serena Hotel. The Chairman of the Senate Mr. Farook Naek was the Chief Guest for the occasion and several federal and state ministers attended as well. In the halls of the hotel, a selection of photographs from the Northern Areas of Pakistan and from Argentina by eminent mountaineer and photographer Tommy Heinrich were exhibited. This exhibition was formally inaugurated in the Argentine Embassy on Tuesday, 8th June. H.E. the Argentine Ambassador delivered a short speech remarking the importance of the date for Argentina and referring to the excellent state of the bilateral relations with Pakistan.
“Two hundred years! Two hundred years have passed since a handful of patriots on the far south of Latin America decided to have their voices heard and establish a government of their own! This tiny revolution has grown into a full fledged Republic in these 200 years, not without many problems and many ups and downs, and has sent this ambassador, your friend, to the land of the pure, to Pakistan, to celebrate its Bicentennial.
Allow me to take you back into history just for two minutes, because it is a story not usually heard in this part of the world and it is a story worth telling:
It was a handful of conspirators, all well intentioned and honorable men, which decided that the time was ripe to end the rule of the Kingdom of Spain in South America. The spark that was lit on the 25 May, 1810 in Buenos Aires turned into a fire that set alight the continent;
a revolutionary flame that formed and trained its armies from nothing; armies led by Gral San Martin crossed the high passes of the Andes mountains and fought their way through half the continent;
a revolutionary flame that freed the slaves and ended with all nobility titles, and that directly gave liberty to five nations: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, and through its fleet of navy corsairs inspired the independence struggle of the other four: El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras;
a revolutionary flame that waged war unrelentingly for 14 years until the last soldiers supporting the banner of Spain surrendered in the fields of the battle of Ayacucho.
Of course, you all know that H.E. the Ambassador of Spain is my nephew. Just imagine: without this revolution perhaps I would be the Ambassador of Spain and he would be my Deputy Head of Mission!
Argentina has grown and suffered a lot since those years. And I take you through history to 1947 and back to this part of the world. In the very first moment of the history of Pakistan, Argentina decided to extend a friendly hand and recognised the new nation. And only five months and four days after Partition, on 19 January, 1948, our country decided to send the first diplomat to Karachi and open a Consulate General there. I cannot stress this enough: only five months and four days after the independence of Pakistan! And coming from the other side of the world!
And on 15 October, 1951, the diplomatic relations were established and 14 days later, on 29 October, the Argentine Embassy in Karachi was created. So we are very, very close to celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations with Pakistan, which I plan to celebrate with a party bigger than this one!
And since we are talking of anniversaries, I am obliged to mention as well that this is my sixth year as Ambassador in Islamabad. And believe me: I have no intention of leaving!
These six years as Ambassador in one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in the world, I can tell you have not been boring! Pakistan is always giving us plenty of work and adventures.
For these six years, I am very thankful to my wife, Susana, who has been a constant source of encouragement. Most of you, my friends, have come to dinner at my residence one time or another. Well, she is the one responsible for making everything perfect every time; she is the magician behind the curtains orchestrating all the details. Susana, thank you for your support and thank you for your dedication; you are my inspiration.
I have to thank my team in the Embassy: the local staff and the diplomats. I have been very lucky that I have been able to work with an excellent and dedicated group of people.
And finally and specially, I have to thank the Pakistani nation that received me with open arms in 2004. I thank my many Pakistani friends who have made my work here in Islamabad a veritable joyful experience.
There are several ongoing projects in which you have been playing a prominent role. For example, all the cultural activities in the Embassy have been possible only through the generous support of Pakistani businessmen and friends. You can see that this hall is decorated by a photographic collection. It is called “Pakistan seen through Argentine eyes” and is the product of several expeditions of the argentine mountaineer Tommy Heinrich. I suggested the name of the exhibition, because it truly reflects how we Argentines see Pakistan: beautiful, humane, complex, intriguing, welcoming. The exhibition will be inaugurated on Tuesday, 8 June, at the Embassy, and later will be taken to Lahore as well.
I have to mention also, that together with the collaboration of the Minister of Health, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, it has been the energy of the Director of the Federal Services Hospital, Dr. Kaiani, and the comprehension of the Chairman of CDA, Imtiaz Elahi, that we will see an annex of the Polyclinic Hospital built in part of the land of the Argentina Park, an annex that will be named the Argentina Pavillion of the Federal Services Hospital.
Osman Waheed, the CEO of the joint-venture BF Biosciences, has already promised to contribute to the training in Argentina of nurses on oncology-care for that hospital and seven others. Let me tell you that the new joint-venture is state-of-the-art and will produce medicines against Hepatitis B and for the treatment of cancer; and was inaugurated by H.E. the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani.
It is you, my friends, who have made the relations between Argentina and Pakistan stronger, not me. You have welcomed me not only into your offices when on official business, but into your homes and into your hearts as well. I have been able to do my work here in Islamabad because of the friendship that you have offered me and for that you have my endless gratitude.
And this is why that I can only end by saying: Argentina and Pakistan ZINDABAD!”
H.E. the Argentine Ambassador, Rodolfo J. Martin-Saravia, together with the Federal Minister for Education, Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali, inaugurated the photo exhibition “Pakistan through Argentine eyes” by the Argentine photographer and mountaineer Tommy Heinrich with a reception in the lawns of the Embassy.
Tommy Heinrich, a professional photographer that works for National Geographic magazine and has filmed several documentaries about mountain-climbing, was the first Argentine mountaineer to summit Mt. Everest in 1994 and has come to Pakistan repeatedly since 1997. In this occasion, his summer visit brings him again to the Karakoram range, where he will attempt two of the great peaks: Broad Peak and K-2.
As it is usual, his good luck had accompanied Ambassador Martin-Saravia, yet again: the terrible storm that took place a day before the exhibition allowed everyone to enjoy a pleasant and agreeable evening. The garden was packed with friends and personalities from all walks of life: not only diplomats and politicians, but artists, photo aficionados, members of the Alpine Club, journalists and the ever growing community of Argentine citizens in Pakistan.
H.E. the Argentine Ambassador delivered a short speech remarking that this event accompanies the celebrations of the 200th Anniversary of the Independence Revolution of Argentina and referring to the exhibition, compared the eyes of the photographer with the eyes of a true friend of Pakistan.
