Sisi awards Saudi’s Kattan over 14-year diplomatic mission

CAIRO – 25 March 2018: Saudi Minister of State for African Affairs, Ahmed Bin Abdul-Aziz Kattan, has completed this March his assignment as Saudi Ambassador in Cairo and Permanent Representative to the Arab League. Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi held a ceremony Saturday celebrating Kattan’s successful diplomatic mission to Egypt.

Sisi awarded Kattan the Nile Sash, in recognition of his efforts in enhancing Egyptian-Saudi relations over the past 14 years, according to the Egyptian Presidency statement.

“Kattan has contributed to fostering and promoting the two countries' relations,” the statement read, adding that Kattan’s post as the Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the Arab League was fruitful too.

Kattan paid a visit to the Egyptian Ministry of Defense where he met with the Armed Forces’ Commander Sedqi Sobhy and a number of Egyptian officials and commanders, marking a farewell to Egyptian statesmen after accomplishing his mission as an ambassador to Egypt.

Hours after meeting with Egyptian officials and the presidential celebration held to Kattan, the Saudi Embassy in Cairo issued a statement thanking the Egyptian President for the Nile Sash award, and delivering greetings from the Saudi King and the Crown Prince.

Since his appointment as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Egypt in 2011, he has been stressing that Egyptian-Saudi relations are “in their best state.” Saudi Ambassador in Cairo Ahmed Abdul Aziz Kattan has been appointed as a State Minister for African Affairs in the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs on February 26.

Kattan has been serving as the Saudi ambassador to Egypt since February 2011. He is the first Saudi diplomat to hold two high-profile posts in a foreign country at the same time, becoming the Saudi Permanent Representative to the Arab League since February 28, 2005 while being the ambassador.

After seven years as an ambassador and 13 years as an Arab League’s envoy, Kattan leaves Egypt to start a new diplomatic mission inside the territory of the Saudi Arabia Kingdom as a state minister for the African Affairs.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman is expected to arrive in Cairo to meet with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and senior officials. The three-day visit of the Crown Prince may be Kattan’s last diplomatic mission as an ambassador to Egypt.

Egypt Today republishes a short biography on Kattan’s life and career.

Life and Education

Kattan was born in Mecca in 1953, studied in Mecca until he moved to Cairo where he graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Cairo University, in 1978.

Then, he returned home to join the diplomatic corps at the Saudi Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1978, before being sent to the Saudi embassy in London where he served as a diplomat from 1982 to 1983.

His career’s successes have not prevented him from being close to his family as Kattan has kept his four children - Daliah, Haifa, Bandar and Faisal - away from media circles.

Kattan’s cleverness contributed to sending him to join the Saudi diplomatic mission in Washington where he held many diplomatic posts in the United States from 1984 to 2005. Later, he has come back to his second home, Egypt, where he stayed for nearly 13 years.

Kattan in Egypt

Succeeding Ambassador Hisham al-Nazir, Kattan was appointed as an ambassador to Egypt. He has succeeded in containing several diplomatic crises. Indeed, he succeeded in boosting the mutual bonds between Cairo and Riyadh. Kattan used to organize a cultural saloon at his house in Zamalek neighborhood every month; inviting Egyptian and Arab intellectuals and public figures to cultural and civilized discussions.

In 2013, Kattan was chosen as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps for his diplomatic contributions and successes that he has accomplished at the diplomatic and cultural levels.

His Diplomatic Contributions

-He participated in all Arab League Summits since 2005 (Algiers 2005, Khartoum 2006, Riyadh 2007, Damascus 2008, Doha 2009, Sirte 2010, Baghdad 2012, Doha 2013, Kuwait 2014, Sharm El-Sheikh 2015, Mauritania 2016, Oman 2017)

-He participated in all Economic Summit Meetings (Kuwait 2009, Sharm El-Sheikh 2011, Riyadh 2013, the extraordinary summit, Sirte 2010)

-He participated in the two Arab-South American countries summits (Doha 2009, Riyadh 2015)

-He participated in the following Arab-African Summits (Sirte 2010, Kuwait 2013, Malabo 2016)

-Head of KSA delegation to Arab League Summit, held in Damascus in 2008, on behalf of late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

-Head of KSA delegation to Arab League Summit, held in Baghdad in 2012, on behalf of the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

-Head of KSA delegation to the fourth Arab-African Summit, held in Malabo in 2016, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

-He is the first Saudi Ambassador to head KSA delegations to two Arab League Summits (Damascus-Baghdad), on behalf of the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, and the Arab-African Summit (Malabo, 2016), on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

-Head of KSA delegation to the fifth meeting attended by senior officials from Arab states and South American states (Doha, 2009)

-Head of KSA’s delegation to the meeting of Arab and African foreign ministers (Malabo, 2016)
-Head of KSA delegation to the meeting of Arab and EU foreign ministers (Cairo, 2016)

-Deputy President of the Advisory Commission of UNRWA, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and the 60th anniversary of establishing UNRWA, (2009)