Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor Achievement Award goes to Prince Khaled Al-Faisal

Prince Sultan bin Khaled Al-Faisal, right, receives the award on behalf of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal from Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor.

Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor, founding chairman of the Al-Habtoor Group and founder of the Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor Achievement Award (KAHAA), honored Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, governor of Makkah, at a ceremony on Tuesday.
Prince Sultan bin Khaled Al-Faisal collected the award on his father’s behalf at a VIP ceremony at The St. Regis Dubai at Al-Habtoor City.
The Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor Achievement Award was established in 2017 to recognize individuals or organizations with a proven track record of contributing to the advancement of arts and culture in the Middle East. The award is given to artists, writers, scientists, academics and athletes who have excelled in their field and who have had a lasting impact on society for at least three decades of service to their industry. The inaugural award was given to the late Kuwaiti actor and writer Abdul Hussein Abdul Redha.
Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor said: “It gives me great honor to recognize Prince Khaled Al-Faisal for making significant contributions in the advancement of cultural indicatives and the arts in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. As an artist, a poet and a patron of the arts, His Royal Highness has made his mark as one of the founders of the art movement furthering cultural, artistic and educational understanding in the Arab world.”
He added: “I established the Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor Achievement Award to encourage and cultivate commitment to excellence and strong principles in our Arab youth. It is important that future generations are educated about our cultural heritage as well as respected figures in our society.”
Prince Khaled, son of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, is currently serving as the governor of Makkah for his second term after being reappointed in January 2015. Prince Khaled also holds the rank of an adviser to King Salman.
He continues to work hard to create new opportunities for artists, poets, writers, composers and musicians to flourish. In 2008, Prince Khaled established the Cultural Council of Makkah which brought together leading figures of the region.
Prince Khaled is the founder of several cultural initiatives, including the Literary Club of Abha, the Abha Singing Festival, the Abha Prize for Cultural Excellence, and the Al-Miftaha Visual Arts Village located in the ancient quarter of Abha. Prince Khaled is also behind the construction of one of the first modern theaters in Saudi Arabia, which accommodates 3,000 spectators for performances of music, singing and poetry.