Coaster Photo
Mayor Syed Salar Jehan of Pakistan (left) is pictured with former Asbury Park mayor Ed Johnson (second from right) and Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce Director Matt Whelan this week.
By ED SALVAS
The mayor of a city in Pakistan, currently touring the United States, visited Asbury Park this week on his way to Atlantic City.
Mayor Syed Salar Jehan was traveling to attend a meeting of the New Jersey League of Municipalities at its annual convention.
He was in Asbury Park for a few days with former Asbury Park Mayor Ed Johnson. The Pakistan mayor serves with Johnson as an Ambassador of the Global Parliament of Mayors, an organization based at The Hague, The Netherlands. Jehan’s visit to the United States is part of a cultural program that includes a walking tour of Asbury Park and a visit to Brookdale Community College.
Johnson said “the focus of the cultural exchange program will provide an opportunity to connect with New Jersey state and municipal officials to discuss cultural, educational and economic development initiatives and explore collaborative opportunities.”
Jehan stopped at The Coaster office and was also greeted by Matt Whelan, Executive Director of the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce.
Back home in Gagra, Pakistan, where he is the mayor, his position is full time in the city of 300,000 in a rural part of the country which is now undergoing development. The population is mostly under the age of 40, the mayor said, and the main industry is mining. He speaks English well which he said he learned in school and from watching movies in English. He’s due to return to Pakistan and his wife and three children in January.
