Dr Karim – who Chairs the European Parliamentary Friends of Pakistan Group and the influential South Asia Trade Monitoring Board – met with Jean-François Cautain to discuss related matters, before leaving to take up his new post in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Mr Cautain has extensive work experience in the field of the European Union external relations and has been serving within European Union institutions since 2001, when, following his substantial work experience in Afghanistan in the development cooperation field with aid agencies, he was appointed Head of Operations of the European Commission Delegation to Afghanistan.

Between 2005 and 2009 he served as Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the European Commission Delegation to Thailand, where he was in charge of policy dialogue with the Government of Thailand and different stakeholders in Myanmar.

In 2011, Mr Cautain was appointed as the first resident European Union Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. In October 2014, he became the Head of the Diplomatic Corps, eventually leaving Cambodia this summer to take up his new role as Ambassador-Designate.

Speaking in Brussels Dr Karim said: “Mr Cautain has a wealth of experience in European and International affairs, as well as diplomacy, which will prove invaluable to Pakistan. His appointment as Ambassador-Designate is one which nobody can argue with and I wish him the best of luck in his new post.”