International Focus Magazine Premiere Edition | Page 36

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THE HONORABLE SULTAN
BIN ABDULLAH AL-ANGARI
Dean of the Houston Consular Corps and Consul General of
the Royal Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Houston
Interview by Katia Hadjiyska
iF Magazine Contributing Reporter /
EnCourage Group CEO

Katia: Please, tell us about yourself
and walk us through your background.
Mr. Al-Angari: I was born in the Holy City of
Makkah in 1966. I am married and a proud father
of three children. I received all of my education in
Saudi Arabia, graduating from King Abdulziz University in Jeddah with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1989, and obtaining a diploma in
Diplomatic Studies form the Institute of Diplomatic
Studies in Riyadh in 1994. Currently, I am pursuing
higher education at the University of St. Thomas in
Houston.
I joined the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
1990 where I worked in several departments before
I served my country abroad. I joined our embassy
in Canada in 1995 as a Head of the Consular Sec36 iF Magazine | July 2016

tion and in 1999 was assigned as a Deputy to the
Head Mission in South Africa. Later, I held positions as Office Manager for H.H. Deputy Minister
for Inspection and Administrative Affairs and later
as General Manager for the Office of H.H. Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs before joining the
Saudi Consulate in Houston as Consul General in
2011.
Katia: What does a Consul General
in your capacity do?
Mr. Al-Angari: My main duty as Consul General is to serve Saudi citizens residing temporarily
or permanently in the territory that the Consulate
in Houston is responsible for. The services include
issuing or renewing passports, providing assistance
to Saudi citizens in many ways, and promoting
trade and friendship between Saudi Arabia and the
United States.
We also serve American citizens by issuing visas to
U.S. nationals and permanent residents who wish
to travel to Saudi Arabia for different reasons. In