Alexandria City Hall hosted more than two dozen foreign government representatives last Thursday when Council Chambers was transformed into a graduation stage for alumni of the Near

East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, part of the National Defense University.

Lt. General David Barno (ret.), NESA’s director, congratulated graduates from Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United States and the Palestinian Authority.

“I’d like to commend all of you,” Barno said. “And I’d like to thank the mayor for taking the time away from those important bills that come across his desk at City Council.”

Mayor Bill Euille was on hand to welcome the alumni to the city and speak about affairs that reach far beyond Alexandria’s borders. 

“All of us are concerned greatly with international affairs,” Euille said. “I’m a peace-loving individual. If we can just take the opportunities to sit down and reflect and put the guns and weapons down, we’ll all be much better off.”