KUWAIT: Dr Hassan Askhanani poses with the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy. - Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: For his exemplary contribution to the promotion of friendly relations between Kuwait and Italy, Dr Hassan Askhanani, Director of the Archeology Museum and Laboratory at the College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, was bestowed the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy by the Italian president, one of the highest recognitions for foreigners. The merit and insignia reflect and affirms Italy's gratitude to the Kuwaiti people for their significant promotion and cooperation for bilateral ties.

"On behalf of the President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella, Dr Ashkhanani significantly contributed to the promotion of our warm and friendly ties, especially in the area of archeology," Carlo Baldocci, Ambassador of Italy to Kuwait, told Kuwait Times after the honoring ceremony. "This is not the first time we bestowed this award to the people of Kuwait. We have given this award to several people since the beginning of our diplomatic ties with Kuwait," he said.

"In the coming years, we are going to focus on collaboration in research, especially on the archeological finds of our team on Failaka Island. We started archeological research on Failaka several years ago. Normally we have a camp for our team there, but in the past year, we stopped because of the pandemic. This year we shall restart once again from January and maybe up until February next year to see more in this area. Dr Ashkhanani has been very helpful and has been part of the archeological research. This is a very important recognition and we are honored to present this knighthood to the man of the hour - Dr Ashkhanani," he added.

Ambassador of Italy to Kuwait Carlo Baldocci (center) receives a memento from Kuwait University's College of Social Sciences.

Ashkhanani was glad to receive the award from the president of Italy. "This knighthood is highly appreciated, especially coming from President Sergio Mattarella himself. I am much honored to be awarded this very significant award. Thank you very much to all the people who were part of my work which landed me on this stage to receive the knighthood. I got the opportunity to collaborate with Rome University last year; Kuwait University was the host of the archeological research and we gained lots of experience and knowledge from them. We benefited from it, from our students to our professors," he said.

He said he had connections with the Italian mission here because he was in the archeological institute and it was part of his PhD studies. "I've done my PhD in archeology (Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf) and have provided the Italian team with all the information needed for their archeological dig and research, like photographs, laboratories and technical support for their team," Ashkhanani said.

The Order of the Star of Italy is a knighthood awarded by the President of the Republic of Italy to Italian individuals living abroad or foreigners who have made a significant contribution to promoting friendly relations and cooperation between Italy and countries around the world. Italy has given this medal to a number of top officials as well as people and entrepreneurs in the sectors of politics, economy, justice and culture.