At the Governor General’s Levee celebrated in Rideau Hall, the Afghan Ambassador and Mrs. Samad join other members of the diplomatic corps in presenting season’s greetings to H.E. The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson.

The Ambassador and Mrs. Samad attend the annual Christmas reception for the Diplomatic Corps hosted by H.E. The Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, at the Museum of Civilizations in Hull.

Official representatives of Canada’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development Departments join the Afghan Ambassador on a panel discussing “Afghanistan: the Path Ahead”. Sponsored by the South Asia Seminar Series and coordinated by Carleton University’s Prof. Elliot Tepper, the panelists discuss the state of affairs in Afghanistan, the Canadian contribution and Ottawa’s future engagement in all three spheres. Members of the diplomatic corps, NGOs and Government agencies also attend the seminar. In addition to the Afghan envoy, Blaine Marchand, Dep. Dir. Planning at CIDA, joined by Nipa Banerjee, CIDA Representative in Afghanistan, Major Patrick O’Halloran from the Department of National Defence, and Ms. Nadia Ahmad from the Department of Foreign Affairs, speak about their respective areas of interest.

The Afghan Ambassador meets with the Honourable Senator Daniel Hays, Speaker of the Senate, and briefs him on recent developments in Afghanistan. The Senator will head the Canadian delegation to the inauguration ceremony of President Hamid Karzai to be held on Dec. 7 in Kabul.