OPR- Thursday, 24th February, 2005

His Excellency Dr. Edward Fenech Adami, The President of Malta, was presented with the letters of credence by H.E. Silvano Pedrollo, Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), H.E. Abdel Aziz Soumah, Ambassador of Guinea and with the letters of commission by H.E. Mr. Mohammed Kawu Ibrahim, High Commissioner for Nigeria.

The ceremony took place in the Ambassadors’ Room at The Palace, Valletta. This afternoon, the President and Mrs. Fenech Adami will host the newly accredited Ambassadors and High Commission to an official luncheon at San Anton Palace.

The curriculum vitae of H.E. Pedrollo Silvano, H.E. Abdel Aziz Soumah and H.E. Mohammed Kawu Ibrahim follow.

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H.E. Mr. Silvano Pedrollo was born in Ercole, Verona in 1945.

The Ambassador is the President of PEDROLLO S.p.A., world leader in the production of electrical pumps for agricultural, civil and industrial use. He is also the President of CITYPUMPS, producer of electrical steel pumps and the President of LINZ ELECTRIC, producer of electrical current generators.

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Silvano Pedrollo

In 1990 he obtained a degree in Engineering conferred by the National Technical University, Frankoskiv in Ukraine. In 1999 he was conferred an Honoris Causa Professorship by the University of Economy and Advanced Technology, Kremenchuk (Ukraine). The Ambassador has been conferred with various awards which include “Entrepreneur of the Year 2001” conferred by Ernst & Young within Assolombarda di Milano and was also the Finalist of the “World Entrepreneur of the Year” at Montecarlo 2002.

His career in the diplomatic corps started in 2000 when he was appointed Ambassador of the SMOM in the Republic of Guyana (South America). The Ambassador was also responsible for various important public duties. He has been the President of the “Pedrollo Foundation”, in Bangladesh, which deals with the instruction of youth, within a proper educational structure, with around 1500 students. Since 1995 he has been the President and the founder of the National Albanian Journalistic Price “Anton Mazreku”, which is currently held in Albania.

The Ambassador is married to Olimpia nee` Pizzolo and has two children.

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H.E. Mr. Abdel Aziz Soumah was born in Boffa, Guinea in September 1952.

Ambassador Somah is a professionally trained Administrator. He holds qualifications from the University of Conarcky in management.

Ambassador Soumah’s started out his career as a Commercial Inspector in Fria, in 1978, then moving on to becoming a Director-General of a Guinean Utility plant in 1984. He then had a stint between 1985 and 1986 as the Director General of ONAH.

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Soumah

Between 1988 to 1992 he occupied the position of Administrative Director and financier of the fish promotion bureau of Canarcky. Between 1992 and 2001 he was the first Secretary at the Guinean Embassy in Dakar. Subsequent to this he moved on to become the Consul General at the Guinean Embassy in Italy, moving up to become the Guinean Charge d’Affaires in Italy. In 2004 he became the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of the Republic of Guinea to the Libyan Jamahiriya.

Ambassador Soumah is married with 7 children.

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H.E. the High Commissioner Mohammed Kawu Ibrahim was born in Kano, Nigeria on the 10^th March 1952.

He gained a BSc in Economics from Ahmadu Bello, University from Zaria, Nigeria and later on an MSc in Economics from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. He later specialised at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium where he graduated with a MSc (International Relations).

President Fenech Adami and Ambassador Kawu Ibrahim

The High Commissioner has had a wide ranging career. From 1979 to 1981 he was posted at the Embassy of Nigeria in the USSR, between 1981 to 1983 he worked at the Embassy of Nigeria in Libreville, Gabon. His next diplomatic posting was at the Embassy of Nigeria in Brussels, Belgium.  Subsequently between 1994-1998 he was posted to the Embassy of Nigeria in Stockholm, Sweden. He was appointed Consul General at the Consulate of Nigeria, Hong Kong, Macau and China.

The High Commissioner has published a number of seminar papers. His Excellency Ibrahim is fluent in English and has an intermediate knowledge of French.