Prestigious medal conferred on Crocker

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai on Monday conferred the prestigious Allama Syed Jamaluddin Afghan Medal on outgoing US ambassador Ryan Crocker, the Presidential Palace said.

Crocker was given the medal during a ceremony at Karzai’s office in recognition of his services for strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and depicting Afghanistan’s positive picture.

On May22, a State Department official said the leading American diplomat would leave his post after a10-month tenure this summer for health reasons.

“Ambassador Crocker confirmed to the Afghan government, US Mission and the ISAF community that he intends to depart his post for health reasons in midsummer, following the Kabul and Tokyo conferences,” said Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman.

During Crocker’s tenure, Afghanistan and the US concluded a strategic partnership agreement and two MoUs on the transfer of responsibility of American detention operations to the Afghans and night raids.

The career diplomat also ran US embassies in Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Syria. He came out of an earlier retirement in 2011 at President Barack Obama’s request.

ma/mud

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