As of today, the Alley of Ambassadors is richer by four more linden trees. At the invitation of the Mayor of Sarajevo’s Stari Grad (Old Town) Municipality, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, the ambassadors of France, Brazil, Pakistan and Greece took part in the tree-planting project today.
The first linden tree was planted today by the Ambassador of the Republic of France together with the Mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić. Christine Toudic is the seventh ambassador of this country to plant a linden tree in the Alley of Ambassadors.
“This gesture today is symbolic because it happens after the UN conference ‘Cop 26’ on climate change. This is a small gesture for the planet, but it is certainly very important, because when more such moves are made, it will lead to big and important things for our planet,” said Christine Toudic.
The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Akhtar Jamil Rao, stated that the tree he planted represents a tree of love and friendship between Pakistan and BiH, and that he is privileged to have been given such an opportunity.
“I am happy that I was able to contribute one tree to this beautiful country and city. In Pakistan, the prime minister has also launched one major tree planting campaign, and ten million trees should be planted. I want to thank the mayor for giving me the opportunity to leave our mark here,” said Ambassador Ahktar.
The Ambassador of Brazil is the third ambassador of this country to plant a linden tree in the Alley of Ambassadors.
“This is my favorite place to walk. This is also a special moment when we talk about Bosnia and Herzegovina and Brazil, because Bosnia and Herzegovina has decided to open an embassy in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, and we are very happy about that. I want to congratulate and thank the Municipality of Stari Grad for the opportunity to plant a tree and I must say that I was very happy and I was waiting for them to call me,” said Ambassador Lineu Pupo De Paula.
The Ambassador of Greece also expressed gratitude on this occasion.
“In 25 years of my diplomatic career and my first term as ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I have never seen such an initiative. It actually reflects the level of culture and civilization that prevails here in the beautiful city of Sarajevo. Congratulations to the Municipality of Stari Grad and those who are the founders of this idea. And in this way, Sarajevo actually shows the way to other cities how to do it,” said Ambassador Dimitrios Papandreou.
Mayor Hadžibajrić reminded that the Alley of Ambassadors has existed since 2002 and that as of today it has 221 linden trees, and announced the continuation of the project, but on a different section.
