JEDDAH — Samar Saleh is the first woman to be named by Saudi Arabia as a commercial attaché in any of the country’s foreign missions. She was appointed to the post of the Commercial Attaché at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, in 2018,

Samar holds a master’s degree in journalism and international media from City University in London. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass media from the American University in Sharjah. She also completed the executive leadership program at Harvard University in the US.

Samar has also undergone a number of training courses that enhanced her abilities and qualified her to work in the financial sector, aided by her fluency in both English and Italian.

Samar was in charge of the Saudi Commercial Attaché in Italy for the development of trade exchange, which includes the development of non-oil exports of goods and services. There, she assumed many tasks, such as coordinating with Saudi and Italian government agencies related to the promotion of non-oil exports, according to the executive plan of the Trade Agency external annexes, which is related to Vision 2030.

She succeeded in forming strategic relationships with leading business owners in Italy, and contributed to opening the Italian market for Saudi products, through the "Made in Saudi" initiative.