Senior journalist Ghazanfar A. Khan recognized for outstanding contributions by Nepal and Turkey
The celebrated journalist, media consultant, and social worker Ghazanfar Ali Khan has been presented with letters of appreciation by Nepal and Turkey for his outstanding contribution to journalism and for promoting Turkish and Nepalese interests in Saudi Arabia. Khan is credited with writing hundreds of reports and features, which strengthened the bilateral relations of Turkiye and Nepal with Saudi Arabia.
Turkey and Nepal have commended Khan for his fearless, professional, and objective journalism and for his dedication to bringing important news, views, and issues related to Saudi Arabia, Nepal, and Turkey to light. In a commendation letter presented to Khan, Turkish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Fatih Ulusoy said: “I am writing this letter to express my appreciation for your contribution to Turkish-Saudi bilateral relations through your media reports.”
Referring to the news reports written by Khan, Ambassador Ulusoy said: “The content of your reports related to Turkiye contributes very much to the advancement of positive agenda between Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.” He said that he would like to express his expectation to continue cooperation in future projects. Khan has been covering Turkey and Saudi-Turkish relations for the last 25 years, initially as senior reporter for Arab News, and then in different media outlets as a freelancer.
In another commendation letter presented to Khan on behalf of Nepal, Ambassador of Nepal to Saudi Arabia Nava Raj Subedi said: “I sincerely appreciate your invaluable contributions to fostering Nepal-Saudi bilateral relations through your insightful media reports.” “Having diligently covered news related to the bilateral relationship for the past 25 yearss, your dedication is truly commendable,” he added.
Ambassador Subedi further appreciated Khan's efforts, saying that “your coverage of the historic ascent of the Mount Everest by the first Saudi Farouk Saad Hamad Al-Zaman during your visit to Nepal in 2008 is particularly noteworthy and highly appreciated.” “Efforts such as yours, Mr Khan, have played a pivotal role in consolidating relations between Saudi Arabia and Nepal across various spheres including economy, politics, tourism, manpower, and culture,” said the letter signed by the envoy.
Humbly accepting the commendations, Khan thanked the ambassadors, describing the works of journalists as a “unique and crucial” that is more important than ever. Mr Khan, who graduated from the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) of India, has been working in mainstream Saudi media for the last three decades. Currently, Khan has been working as a freelancer from Riyadh for a few major Saudi and foreign media outlets, including Foreign Policy News (an American news portal), The Yomiuri Shimbun (a national newspaper of Japan), and Indianewsstream.com (a news portal of India).
Khan worked for 25 years as Bureau Chief of Arab News, the largest English daily in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. He has written and published about 25,000 reports, news stories, and features in different publications, including 'Arab News', ‘The Diplomat’ (A journal published by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs), ‘Ahlan Wasahlan’ (Inflight Magazine of Saudi Arabian Airlines), ‘The Hindustan Times’, a daily newspaper published from India; and ‘The Nation and the World’, an Indian magazine beside a few other media outlets.
He has reported widely on politics, development, security, entertainment, aviation, and humanitarian issues from Saudi Arabia, India, the UK, Italy, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Nepal, Bahrain, Switzerland, Sweden, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, China, Malaysia, Bahrain, and Germany. He was awarded “Saudi Arabia's Arab News Best Reporter Award” in 1995 and European Union Familiarization Certificate in 2009. He was also a member of the jury for several journalism awards, including Samir Foundation Award in Lebanon a couple of years back.
Khan has attended conferences and media dialogues globally, responding to UN agencies, international organizations, and nations' invitations. He was a panelist at an important session of Global Inter-Media Dialogue held in Bali (Indonesia) in 2006, an active participant at a media summit in South Korea in 1995, and at a Global Forum for Media Development held in Athens (Greece) in 2008. He has been regularly participating in the Global Media Forum in Bonn (Germany) since 2018.
