Italian ambassador to Qatar Pasquale Salzano was awarded ‘Man of the Year’ by Grazia Qatar magazine on November 5 at St Regis Doha.
Themed ‘Celebrating Qatar,’ the Grazia Style Awards 2018 feted the envoy for his commitment in facilitating cultural co-operation and dialogue between Qatar and Italy and promoting the former’s image through art and culture.
“Indeed, diplomacy has one main goal above all: to bring together different worlds and people – apparently far from each other – to work closely for the same objective, to share ideas and contribute to the successful cultural, social and sustainable growth of our society,” Salzano told Gulf Times.
He thanked Grazia and its editor-in-chief Bianca Brigitte Bonomi for such an important acknowledgement and “indeed a very positive surprise.”
According to Salzano, such award serves as a prize to the excellent results achieved by the partnership between Qatar and Italy and to the dedicated and enthusiastic work of the men and women who contribute daily to advance dialogue and co-operation between the two countries.
He cited the efforts of his team at the embassy, the Italian community in the country, businessmen, artists and researchers, “bridging our countries through art and innovation.”
“For an Italian ambassador, representing a country which has transformed its creativity, innovation and lifestyle in one of the most famous brand and model in the world – ‘Made in Italy’ – a style award is much more than a personal recognition,” Salzano said. 
“It means to me that our efforts and results are visible and we have succeeded in reaching out to people the way we wanted,” he added. 
“During my all career – and of course in my year and a half here in Qatar – I have always asked my team to put great efforts in the way we communicate our work.”
“The essence of Italian lifestyle and warm hospitality is our willingness to share, network and communicate and I firmly believe that our embassy’s style shall reflect that and I am pleased here in Qatar it did,” the envoy said.
Bonomi described Salzano as a leading advocate for the promotion of Italian culture – the embodiment of Italian style.