JEDDAH — Italian President Sergio Mattarella has awarded an honorary decoration to a Saudi citizen in recognition of his effective role in deepening Saudi-Italian ties in many vital areas.

The Italian Consulate General in Jeddah hosted a special ceremony to present the honorary decoration to Engineer Mamdouh Khayyat, who is the product of a prestigious Italian university. The ceremony was attended by a number of businessmen, some of Khayyat’s friends and groups of people interested in Saudi-Italian ties.

Italian Consul General Elisabetta Martini announced the resolution of the Italian president to decorate Khayyat with the Cavaliere in recognition of his efforts in promoting social and cultural relationships between Saudi Arabia and Italy.

In her speech at the ceremony, Martini said Engineer Khayyat very actively deepened Saudi–Italy relations, helped by his mastery of Italian language as well as his graduation from an Italian institution, Politecnico DI Torino, which is one of the most prestigious Italian universities, where he earned his engineering degree.

She also recognized Khayyat’s accomplishments in motorsport area, including winning the title of Middle East Rally Championship in 1992 riding an Italian car, Lancia Integrale, in addition to his trading and economic activities, which created proper awareness of the Italian products in the Saudi market.

Martini thanked Khayyat for his efforts and presented him the Cavaliere decoration. She hoped that he would continue his efforts for the enhancement of this relationship.

Khayyat thanked the Italian president, the Italian people and the diplomats for the honor. “During my lifetime, I was crowned and honored many times, but the most important ones were from Italy. My first medal was my engineering certificate, which I received from Italy, and today I got the Cavaliere decoration from the Italian Republic,” he said.

“This honor places more responsibility on me toward our bilateral relationships, particularly trade. We are now moving strongly toward Vision 2030. Soon we will have a new ambassador who enjoys the confidence of our leaders and has a vibrant, classy and ambitious personality. I place it entirely in the hands of his highness for the best interest our two nations,” he added. — SG