Middle East specialist Rizwan Saeed Sheikh assumes office as Pakistan’s envoy to Washington

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, widely considered a Middle East specialist, has formally assumed office as Pakistan’s envoy to the United States, Islamabad’s embassy in Washington said in a statement on Thursday.
Sheikh has over 20 years of experience, primarily in multilateral diplomacy, and was last serving as the additional foreign secretary for the Middle East and overseeing the Special Invest­ment Facilitation Council cell at the Pakistani Foreign Office, set up to bring in foreign investment, particularly from Gulf nations. He has previously also served at the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commi­ssion and as the OIC secretary general’s spokesman.
“The development of all-round Pakistan-US relations, especially the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the economic sectors and the promotion of public relations are among his top priorities,” Pakistan’s embassy in Washington said after Sheikh took charge. “He said that every possible effort should be made to serve the [Pakistani] community and provide them with better facilities.”
Sheikh takes over from Ambassador Masood Khan, who had already received a three-month extension after his contract ended in March and left the office in July.
Others who were reportedly considered for the Washington appointment included High Commissioner in Australia Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry and former envoy to the US, UN and UK Dr. Maleeha Lodhi.