Ambassador Hakimi hosted a luncheon to celebrate the SPA signing and NATO Summit

Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2012)—Today Ambassador Hakimi hosted a luncheon at the Embassy to celebrate the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) and the successful outcomes of the NATO Summit in Chicago. He was joined by Ambassador Marc Grossman the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and other officials from the White House, the U.S. Department of State, and Department of Defense.

Ambassador Hakimi, while expressing gratitude for the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the one and half year-long process of developing the SPA, explained the significance of this historic agreement and its implications for stability and prosperity of Afghanistan and the whole region. Ambassador Hakimi also touched upon the successful outcomes of the Chicago Summit as well as the expected outcomes of the upcoming Kabul and Tokyo Conferences.

Ambassador Grossman agreed with Ambassador Hakimi about the bright future of Afghan-American relations and was thrilled to be celebrating the hard work and dedication behind the Strategic Partnership Agreement and the NATO Summit in Chicago. He also generously thanked the Embassy for hosting this celebration and acknowledged the Strategic Partnership Agreement and NATO Summit as a part of the whole Kabul Process which is a compilation of years of hard work and successful conferences in the past in addition to those in the near future in Kabul and Tokyo. Ambassador Grossman’s resounding message was that though there may be challenges ahead, the U.S. and Afghan people will face them together in the years to come.