RIYADH: Saudi artisan Ghalilah Al-Khedairi has impressed Prince Charles with her handicraft skills as the British crown prince praised her art work which was gifted to him by Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), during his last visit to the Kingdom.

“Prince Charles recently sent a letter thanking Al-Khedairi, a handicraft artisan here,” said an SCTNH spokesman on Thursday.

“Al-Khedairi had made a ‘piece of Sido’ which was presented to Prince Charles by Prince Sultan during his visit to the Kingdom in February this year,” he said.

In the letter, Prince Charles expressed his admiration for the “Sido piece” and commended Al-Khedairi’s amazing skill in making it.

The British crown prince also praised Prince Sultan for his persistent support to artisans and for paying extraordinary attention to promoting handicrafts in the Kingdom with the National Handicraft Program popularly known as Bari.

Bari recently signed an agreement with Prince Charles’ Turquoise Mountain Foundation (TMF) to promote handicrafts in the Kingdom supporting local artisans through the skill-based training to be provided by trainers from TMF.

Bari and TMF entered into a cooperation agreement, which was signed at Al-Ula during the Prince Charles’ trip in February.

The agreement aims to spur professional and scientific exchange for students, teachers and artisans between TMF and Bari, as well as promote mutual cooperation for the development of heritage villages in the Kingdom, develop a number of profitable craft products for the retail market as souvenirs for hotels, and establish an exhibition to display live models of Islamic art, traditions and crafts.

Prince Charles visited the Kingdom several times in the recent past which included his guest stint at the Janadriyah Festival in 2014.