Pakistan Envoy Confers ‘Sitara-i-Imtiaz’ on
Clingendael Academy Netherlands Director
Pak-Prism Report | Published May 30, 2026
On behalf of President Asif Ali Zardari, Syed Haider Shah, ambassador of Pakistan to The Netherlands, recently conferred the Civil Award – ‘Sitara-i-Imtiaz’ upon Ronald Ton, founding director of Clingendael Academy of the Netherlands at an investiture ceremony at Pakistan House.
Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador Shah felicitated Ton on receiving the prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding contributions towards Pakistan-The Netherlands relations. While paying a rich tribute to his meritorious services, the ambassador called Ton a great friend of Pakistan who had always been at the forefront in promoting bilateral cooperation in diplomatic capacity building over the past two decades.
Ton, in his remarks, expressed profound gratitude to the President of Pakistan for conferring on him the award. While recalling his exchanges with Pakistani young diplomats, he described the ongoing diplomatic capacity building programme as one of the success stories of Pakistan-The Netherlands historic relations.
Christian Rebergen, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, spoke as the chief guest and thanked the government of Pakistan for decorating Ton with its prestigious civil award. He added that The Netherlands greatly valued its historic and longstanding relations with Pakistan.