Pakistan's Ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, was awarded China's inaugural 'Outstanding Diplomat Medal'in recognition of his outstanding contributions to promoting friendship and cooperation between Pakistan and China.

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and minister of foreign affairs, presented the award to Ambassador Hashmi during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, where a total of eight current and former foreign ambassadors received the medal, Gwadar Pro reported.

The other recipients included former ambassadors to China from Russia, Cambodia, Chad, Uruguay, as well as incumbent ambassadors to China from Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

"A partnership forged with the right approach defies distance. Diplomatic envoys serve as bridges for friendly exchanges between countries.

All the Outstanding Diplomat Medal honorees are our good friends and old friends who have a deep knowledge of China," Wang said while congratulating the recipients.

He said these diplomatic envoys are builders of bilateral relations, pioneers in understanding China, pacesetters in forging people-to-people connections and contributors to mutual benefit.

"The mountains that connect China and Pakistan are high, but the friendship that binds us is even higher," Hashmi said and described the prestigious award conferred upon him as a "special" and "memorable" honor.

The event was attended by some 300 guests, including diplomatic envoys, representatives of international organizations in China, as well as Chinese officials.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China