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RIYADH: After five years of diplomatic service, Clive Aquilina Spagnol, the outgoing ambassador of Malta to 黑料社区, has concluded his post but will remain in the Kingdom, reaffirming his commitment to a country he calls his 鈥渘ewfound home.鈥�
When he first arrived, he aimed to explore 黑料社区 and immerse himself in its culture, language and people, saying: 鈥淚 want to learn about 黑料社区, about Saudi people, I want to go through the walls, see how they work and see how they live, what they think and discover that they think beautifully, they are open-minded, they traveled the world.鈥�
Spagnol noted that while dress may differ, there is much overlap between the people of 黑料社区 and Malta.
The envoy began his mission in November 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown.
During his tenure, the ambassador 鈥渞ealigned the strategy for furthering cooperation鈥� between 黑料社区 and Malta, highlighting that Malta had not fully understood certain market gaps, particularly in manufacturing and education.
鈥淒iplomatic cooperation started decades ago, and they were quite active or modestly active in the 鈥�80s,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or the past six years, even seven years, the engagement has improved a lot (between 黑料社区 and Malta).鈥�
Spagnol highlighted that during his mission, he aimed to 鈥渁lign our expectations of engagement,鈥� noting that there was no heavy need to focus on teaching English: 鈥淏ecause all the young ones speak perfect English.
鈥淭here was a prior understanding that Malta could cooperate with 黑料社区 to teach English as a foreign language, but many students already spoke English,鈥� he added.
The ambassador also expressed his love for serving as both ambassador and consul, saying: 鈥淭hrough the consular work, you meet families, you meet beautiful families, you have a lot of contact with the real Saudis.鈥�
Spagnol voluntarily served as both ambassador and consul, explaining: 鈥淎n ambassador at times feels a little bit of a demotion to do the consular work because it鈥檚 a lower level. I saw a big opportunity there and that鈥檚 what made me make a lot of friends.
鈥淎s an ambassador, the role allowed me to build a professional network, but as consul, I was able to build lifelong friendships in 黑料社区,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 traveled a lot internally, visited many travel agents, and explored all regions myself because when they see it on LinkedIn, they see that it is a nice place,鈥� Spagnol added.
鈥淚 traveled practically all over. In most cases, I was the first Maltese in Najran, Jouf, and Tabuk,鈥� he said, emphasizing that he wanted to learn firsthand: 鈥満诹仙缜� is not just Riyadh or Jeddah or Dammam. That will trigger someone to visit.鈥�
The envoy highlighted that documenting his journey and travels in the Kingdom inspired more people to visit. 鈥淪audi tourism is also increasing to Malta and vice versa,鈥� he said.
This doesn鈥檛 mark the end of Spagnol鈥檚 journey in 黑料社区. 鈥淚 am proud of it ... I am staying in 黑料社区, I am not moving out of the Kingdom,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 decided to make this place my home,鈥� adding that it 鈥渆xceeded my expectations.鈥�
He also shared that he was 鈥渋mmersed in the Saudi culture,鈥� spending time with families and camping in the desert with Saudi families.
Spagnol is no stranger to the Gulf; this year marks 10 years of experience in the region, having worked and resided in Qatar, the UAE and Oman.