Washington DC, 20 January 2023 (TDI): The Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States (US), Masood Khan held a meeting with Farrah Khan, an American of Pakistani descent, who is the Mayor of Irvine, a city in California.
Both officials emphasized Irvine’s significant progress in sectors such as technology, medicine, and artificial intelligence, as well as the opportunities for Pakistan to benefit from it.
Remarks by officials
Masood Khan congratulated the Mayor on a successful political career. In this vein, Khan said, “Such leadership qualities and successes make Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora in the United States proud.”
He stressed that the recent Punjab-California Sister Province Agreement serves as a model for Pakistan and the US to establish domain-specific state-to-province, city-to-city economic ties.
The Envoy discussed the importance of the tech sector for Pakistan. Along these lines, he added, “The tech startups of Pakistan and the vibrant tech sector of Irvine could forge strong partnerships.
It will not only meet the economic needs of the two sides but also strengthen people-to-people exchanges.”
Masood also spoke about his recent trip to California and the signing of a sister state-province agreement between Punjab and California. The Ambassador described the agreement as historic.
“The agreement would bring Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, and California, the largest state in the United States, closer together. It would pave the way for greater economic interaction between the two countries.” He reiterated.
Also read: California & Punjab Form Strong Sister Province Partnership for Mutual Benefit: Masood Khan
Farrah Khan thanked the Ambassador for her warm welcome. She mentioned technology, and artificial intelligence as major sectors in which Irvine was making significant progress.
“Higher education and advanced learning in cutting-edge technologies is another promising area for improving mutual collaboration.” The Mayor highlighted.
Farrah Khan also emphasized the significant contributions of the Pakistani diaspora to the socioeconomic development of Irvine and the state of California.
While concluding the meeting, Khan invited Farrah to visit Pakistan with a business delegation to promote chamber-industry cooperation and strengthen people-to-people ties.
Who is Farrah Khan?
Farrah Khan is an American politician serving as the 23rd Mayor of Irvine, California. Khan first served Irvine as a member of the City Council before being elected mayor in 2020.
Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She immigrated to the United States when she was three years old. She subsequently lived in northern California.
Farrah received her bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of California, Davis. She moved to Irvine in 2004.
Farrah ran for mayor during the 2020 election. She won about 47% of the vote, unseating mayor pro tem Christina Shea who received 36% of the vote.
It is pertinent to note that Khan ran again for mayor in the 2022 election, and won reelection with 37.8% of the vote.
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