Karachi: Outgoing French Ambassador to Pakistan Nicolas Galey this week highlighted Pakistan’s growing diplomatic influence and its increasingly constructive role in addressing regional challenges, saying the country has demonstrated its ability to contribute to solutions in difficult international circumstances.
Speaking at a farewell reception in Karachi, Galey reflected on his nearly five-year tenure in Pakistan and praised the country’s efforts to help ease regional tensions, particularly its recent role in seeking a ceasefire in the Gulf.
The farewell, organised by the Board of Management of the Quaid-e-Azam House Museum in collaboration with the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations, also marked the departure of French Consul General Alexis Chahtahtinsky.
Ambassador Galey said he was leaving Pakistan with mixed emotions after spending almost five years in the country, describing his departure as a moment of sadness but also an opportunity to reflect on his experiences and the evolution he had witnessed.
He said Pakistan had emerged as an influential country despite operating in difficult regional and geopolitical circumstances.
“I really appreciate Pakistan’s efforts in at least getting a kind of ceasefire in the Gulf. Pakistan has emerged as a very influential country in difficult circumstances,” Galey said.
His remarks offered a positive assessment of Pakistan’s evolving diplomatic profile at a time when Islamabad has sought to play a more active role in regional diplomacy and conflict-resolution efforts.
Ambassador Galey also spoke warmly about Karachi, which he visited numerous times during his posting.
“I have visited Karachi many times and have seen the vitality of this city. I have seen it changing and improving,” he said.
The ambassador praised Chahtahtinsky for his work in Karachi and acknowledged the significance of the French diplomatic presence in the city over the past five decades.
The French Consulate General in Karachi, established in 1976, is now being permanently closed, coinciding with the end of Ambassador Galey’s tenure and Chahtahtinsky’s departure.
While another ambassador will take over France’s diplomatic representation in Islamabad, Galey noted that Karachi would no longer have a French consulate.
He nevertheless stressed that France’s engagement with the city would continue through other institutions.
The Alliance Française, he said, would serve as France’s flagship presence in Karachi, while the Pakistan-France Business Alliance would continue working to promote commercial ties.
The ambassador’s comments suggested that although the diplomatic structure is changing, France intends to retain important cultural and economic connections with Pakistan’s commercial capital.
For Consul General Alexis Chahtahtinsky, the departure carries an especially personal significance.
He is scheduled to leave Karachi and Pakistan, but his relationship with the country dates back to 1983, when he first visited Pakistan as a student.
Recalling that visit, he said he had been fortunate to travel to Pakistan’s northern areas and had developed a deep affection for the country.
He later returned as a diplomat and spent four years as French consul general in Karachi.
Chahtahtinsky described Karachi as Pakistan’s first capital and its continuing economic centre, emphasising its importance as the country’s largest port and a gateway to the wider Pakistani market.
He said the city offered considerable opportunities for business while also having a vibrant social life.
“I will always have a special place in my heart for Karachi,” he said.
He also pointed to what he regarded as a significant change in Pakistan’s international image during recent years.
According to Chahtahtinsky, Pakistan had previously been associated internationally with crime and terrorism, creating concerns among foreign diplomats about travelling to or working in the country.
He argued that recent developments, particularly Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts during the Gulf crisis, had contributed to a different perception.
“It is a very different Pakistan that we are leaving,” he said, adding that Pakistan had increasingly repositioned itself from being viewed as part of a problem to becoming part of the solution.
During the ceremony, Ikram Sehgal, Vice Chairman of the Board of Management of the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations, highlighted the long history of Pakistan-France relations.
He recalled France’s early recognition of Pakistan and noted that formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1951.
Sehgal particularly highlighted the defence dimension of bilateral ties, citing French-origin Daphne-class and Agosta-class submarines acquired by Pakistan at times when the country faced difficulties obtaining military equipment elsewhere.
He also referred to Pakistan’s Mirage III and Mirage 5 fighter aircraft and the subsequent Retrofit of Strike Element programme, under which ageing Mirage jets were upgraded at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra.
