President Obama pays tribute to leather consultant - leatherbiz: Leadi Leatherbiz

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President Obama pays tribute to leather consultant

24/04/2015
The president of the US, Barack Obama, confirmed in an official statement on April 23 that Warren Weinstein, a leather industry consultant, was killed in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region in January 2015. Mr Weinstein was kidnapped in Pakistan in August 2011 after working there on leather industry development projects for around five years.

President Obama confirmed that Mr Weinstein was killed during a US counterterrorism operation targetting an al Qaeda compound. A kidnapped Italian aid worker, Giovanni Lo Porto, was also killed during the attack.

Warren Weinstein helped secure funding from US aid budgets to work on improvement projects for the tanning industry in Pakistan. Industry professionals who knew him and worked with him have described him as a kind and clever person who loved his work and loved Pakistan and its people. He learned the Urdu language and was committed to helping the leather industry in Pakistan make improvements.

In the statement, President Obama called Mr Weinstein a shining example and said: “Warren lived the ideals of our country, serving with the Peace Corps and later with the United States Agency for International Development. He devoted his life to people across Africa and South Asia. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather who willingly left the comforts of home to help the people of Pakistan.”


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