France recently honored a select group of Saudi personalities who have made significant contributions to their country’s development at a special awards ceremony in Riyadh.

The Legion of Honor and the National Merit Order were awarded in the presence of Gen. Georgelin, the grand chancellor of the order, who had flown in from Paris to chair the ceremony.

Gen. Georgelin awarded the Legion of Honor to three prominent Saudi personalities — Gen. Khaled Al-Humaidan, head of the General Intelligence Presidency, Rihab Massoud, former assistant to the secretary-general of the National Security Council, and Khaled Juffaili, a high-profile member of the Saudi business community.

On the same day, French Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot also presented the Ordre National du Mérite to Joseph Katrib.

Outlining the nature of the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit, Gen. Georgelin explained in his brief speech that both awards aim at rewarding outstanding men and women who promote values such as honor, commitment and innovation. “They are also meant to be the acknowledgment of their great accomplishments for their country and for the common good,” he said.

At a separate event, the French ambassador also awarded the Legion of Honor to Prince Turki Al-Kabeer, deputy minister of foreign affairs in charge of multilateral issues.

The two events gathered over a hundred French and Saudi high-profile figures. The awards were also seen as an opportunity to hail the friendship between the Kingdom and France and to reiterate the significance of these two orders in their bilateral relations.

More than 500 Saudis have been awarded one of the two distinctions since France first established official diplomatic relations with the Kingdom in the 1930s. “Ever since, all Saudi kings have been members of these two orders, something France takes a huge pride in,” a French Embassy official said.

The guests expressed their thanks to France for this sign of esteem and praised the creation of the Circle of the Legion of Honor and the National Merit Order of which Kamel S. Almunajjed is the president, Patrice Couvègnes vice president and Faiz S. Alelweet the secretary-general.