Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the United Sates, was bid farewell on Friday, the 12th of December 2014 at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), Sterling VA.
ADAMS, Islamic Society of North America , Masjid Muhammad, The Nation's Mosque, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) co sponsored the event.
Amnbassador Rasool served as a Member of Parliament in South Africaís National Assembly, Special Advisor to the State President and the Governor of the Western Cape Province.
He was also honored by the Washingtonís National Press Club with an "unusual lifetime achievement award as he prepared to head home to Cape Town after four and half years in the American capital."
Rasool reported that US-South Africa ties are in a sound, mutually beneficial shape, noting: the value of trade between the two countries, now at over $17 billion, is now higher that it had been before the 2008 financial crisis; the US was the South Africaís largest source foreign direct investment with investments valued at over $50 billion; 600 US companies were active in South Africa, accounting for more that 150 000 jobs; Americans were traveling to South Africa in record numbers ó over 300 000 in 2013; and American funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention remained generous at $400 million.