Ambassador Omar Al-Nahar of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan hosted a reception at the Crystal Ballroom of Lotte Hotel in Seoul on June 10, 2014 to celebrate the 68th anniversary of Independence.
It was one of the largest diplomatic functions in recent months, which was attended by an estimated 700 Korean and international guests.
As in the case of the celebration events hosted by the embassies, Jordan, too, began the reception with the offering of silent prayers for the victims of the Sewol Ferry Case.
Unlike at other National Day functions, the spacious main Crystal Ballroom of the Lotte Hotel was literally filled to the brim with distinguished guests from all walks of life as well as the foreign community, especially the Diplomatic Corps in Korea, from which many mission chiefs came.

They included, in alphabetical order, Ambassadors Abdul Bashir Pazhwak of Afghanistan(CDA), Hocine Sahraoui of Algeria, Jorge Roballo of Argentina, William Paterson of Australia, Elisabeth Bertagnoli of Austria, Md. Enamul Kabir of Bangladesh, Natallia Jhylevich of Belarus, Guadalupe Palomeque de Taboada of Bolivia, Francois Bontemps of Belgium, Dato Haji Harun Ismail of Brunei Darussalam, Petar Andonov of Bulgaria, Manuel Lopez Trigo of Costa Rica, Sylvestre Kouassi Bile of Cote d'Ivoire, Grecia Fiodalicia Pichardo of Dominican Republic, Nicolas Fabian Trujillo Newlin of Ecuador, Hany Moawad Selim Labib of Egypt, Dibaba Abdetta (Dr.) of Ethiopia, Matti Heimonen of Finland, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia, Gustavo Adolfo Lopez Calderon of Guatemala, John A. Prasetio of Indonesia, Khalil Ismai Abdul Sahib Al-Mosawi of Iraq, Aingeal O’onoghue of Ireland, Bessho Koro of Japan, Dulat Bakisher of Kazakhstan, Ngovi Kitau of Kenya, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi of Kuwait, Duishonkul Chotonov of Kyrgyzstan, Otman S. Saad Ahbara of Libya, Dato Rohana binti Ramli of Malaysia, Mohammed Chraibi of Morocco, Mohamed Salim Alharthy of Oman, Ceferino Adrian Valdez Peralta of Paraguay, Mohammed Bin Abdalla Obaid Al-Dohaimi of Qatar, Calin Fabian of Romania, Konstantine V. Vnukov of Russia, Eugene S. Kayihura of Rwanda, Ahmad Y. Al-Barrak of Saudi Arabia, Peter Tan Hai Chuan of Singapore, Hilton A. Dennis of South Africa, Tissa Wijeratne of Sri Lanka, Tajeldin Elhadi Eltahir of Sudan, Hemani Filomena Coelho Da Silva of Timor Leste, Mohamed Ali Nafti of Tunisia, Hakan Okcal of Turkey, Vasyl Marmazov of Ukraine, Abdulla Khalfan Alromaithi of the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Alba Florio Legnani of Uruguay, Ms. Yadira Hidalgo de Ortiz of Venezuela (CDA) and Huu Chi Pham of Vietnam.

Following the prayers, Ambassador Al-Nahar of Jordan gave a welcome speech which was to the following effect:
We meet today as Jordan celebrates its dearest national occasion, its independence. As His Majesty King Abdullah II said, Independence stands for the sacrifices made by our forefathers to liberate the national will and build a better future. It embodies sacrifice, belonging and a sense of responsibility to build our homeland and preserve its security, stability and achievements.
What makes Jordan is moderation and openness, respect for others, inclusiveness and concern for the future.

In Korea today we are celebrating Jordan’s past, present and future. For that and for the challenges and opportunities that we share, which are not unique to any one country in the interconnected world we live in, I call on you to embrace optimism, hope and the promise of a better future.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an independent sovereign Arab State. It's system of government is parliamentary with a hereditary monarchy. The reigning monarch, His Majesty King Abdullah II, is the Head of State, the Chief Executive and the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

The King exercises his executive authority through the prime minister and the Council of Ministers, or cabinet. The cabinet is responsible before the elected House of Deputies which, along with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes the legislative branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independent branch of the government. Since 1989, all elements of the Jordanian political spectrum have embarked together on a road to greater democracy, liberalization and consensus building. These reforms, which were guided by the late King Hussein, have placed Jordan on an irreversible road to democratization. The result has been greater empowerment and involvement of everyday citizens in Jordan's civic life, contributing to increased stability and institutionalization which will benefit the country far into the future.
_____________________________________________________________
*Thank you H.E. Ambassador Dato Harun Haji Ismail of Brunei Darussalam, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Korea, for the kind reminder of our use of an inappropriate name, “Seoul Diplomatic Corps,” in reference to the Diplomatic Corps in Korea. Such kind reminders from the diplomats help The Korea Post grow and reduce our room for improvement. Again, thank you very much Ambassador Ismail.?Ed.

저작권자 © The Korea Post 무단전재 및 재배포 금지