Dr. Valentino Simonetti, a law graduate from the University of Rome, will arrive here to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Embassy of Italy here announced that following the approval of the Saudi government, the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic has endorsed the nomination of Simonetti to be the ambassador to Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has also approved the credentials of Simonetti, according to a press statement by the Italian Embassy. Simonetti started his diplomatic career in 1975 with his first assignment in the Directorate General for Personnel and Administration. However, his first foreign assignment was in the capacity of second commercial secretary at the Italian Consulate in Jeddah in 1979. In 1981, he served as Consul in Bordeaux, and then moved on to Kinshasa in 1985. He returned to Rome in 1987 to work in the VIII Office of the Directorate General for Economic Affairs. In 1990, he became First Commercial Counselor in Ottawa, and he then moved to Philadelphia in 1994 as Consul General. In 1996, he became head of the Secretariat of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation. In 1999, he was appointed First Counselor in Beijing and was promoted to the post of Minister Plenipotentiary in 2000. He was confirmed in that position with the functions of a minister. In 2002, he served as Minister Counselor at the Permanent Representation at the International Organizations in Geneva. In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Commander title. In 2006, he worked as Assistant to the Director General for Multilateral Political Affairs and Human Rights. In 2007, Ambassador Simonetti became President of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Human Rights.
