Ali Awaad Assiri, the Kingdom's Ambassador to Pakistan, who is also dean of the Saudi diplomatic corps, has been appointed as ambassador to Lebanon, sources said. Assiri will replace Abdul Aziz Khoja who was appointed as Minister of Information and Culture in the recent major cabinet reshuffle made by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. When contacted by telephone, Assiri neither denied nor confirmed the appointment. But he said he was proud of the confidence placed on him by the Kingdom's leadership. He expressed his readiness to work in any position for the country. The sources said the present Saudi Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadair, would replace Assiri in Islamabad. Assiri was born in the Assir region in 1953 and was appointed as an Ambassador to Islamabad in 2001. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Security Sciences from King Fahd Security College in Riyadh and a Master's degree in International Relations from Princeton University in the US. He has also been awarded several medals within and outside the Kingdom. Assiri is expected to assume his new position within the next few months. Al-Zaid envoy to Amman Meanwhile, Fahd Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Zaid has expressed his pleasure over the royal trust in his appointment as ambassador to Jordan. He has taken charge in Amman. Al-Zaid described Saudi-Jordanian relations as special and distinguished due to the ties of religion, brotherhood, good neighborliness, intermarriage, and the unity of objectives.
