Ambassador Nicolas Galey And Consul General Alexis Chahtahtinsky Bid Farewell At Quaid-e-Azam House Museum. Consulate Opened In 1976. Galey Praises Pakistan’s Gulf Mediation Role. Chahtahtinsky: “A Very Different Pakistan”. Ikram Sehgal: France Is Wrong To Leave At This Moment Of Opportunity
According to Dawn, the Consulate General of France in Karachi is permanently closing its doors after 50 years of service announced by outgoing French Ambassador Nicolas Galey at a farewell organised by the Board of Management of the Quaid-i-Azam House Museum and the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations on Tuesday, August 26, 2026.
Galey said the French Consulate, which opened in 1976, is closing after 50 years. “Even though the consulate is closing, there is still the Alliance Française, which will now serve as our flagship. There will also be the Pakistan France Business Alliance here doing its work,” he noted. He also praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts: “I really appreciate Pakistan’s efforts in at least getting a kind of ceasefire in the Gulf. Pakistan has emerged as a very influential country in difficult circumstances.”
Consul General Alexis Chahtahtinsky, departing September 1 after four years in Karachi, said: “Instead of being a problem, Pakistan has repositioned itself to become part of the solution.” He recalled first visiting Pakistan as a student in 1983, described Karachi as Pakistan’s first capital and economic gateway, and said he would “always have a special place in my heart for Karachi.”
Ikram Sehgal, vice chairman of the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations, noted France was the first non-Muslim nation to recognise Pakistan and has supplied Daphne and Agosta-class submarines and Mirage fighter jets. He argued France was “wrong in closing its consulate at this time when Pakistan’s waters are turning into a major power.”
France leaves a consulate in a city it called Pakistan’s gateway. It also leaves just as that city’s gateway is becoming more consequential.
Check out our previous coverage of Pakistan’s foreign relations on The Trusted Times.
