In pictures: The latest four distinguished professionals to receive Saudi citizenship

In pictures: The latest four distinguished professionals to receive Saudi citizenship

Several distinguished talents and experts were granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia after a royal decree was passed on Thursday, with the identities of four more recipients revealed on Saturday.

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People with “outstanding capabilities and backgrounds in ‘rare specialties,’” were awarded citizenship, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The kingdom will focus on naturalizing foreigners in fields including Shariah, medicine, science, culture, sports and technology, “in order to strengthen the pace of development and boost its attractiveness for investment and human capital,” the agency said.

Here are four of the latest people to be granted citizenship because of outstanding achievements in their fields:

Omar Mounes Yaghi

Omar Mounes Yaghi is a chemistry professor at the University of Berkeley, California, and was recently granted Saudi citizenship.

Born in Jordan to a Palestinian family, Yaghi pioneered a new field known as reticular chemistry.

He has been awarded numerous accolades including the Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science, and Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Prize.

He is also the founding director of the Berkeley Global Science Institute, which offers educational programs to people who would otherwise not have access to them.

Manahil Abdulrahman Thabet

Originally from Yemen, Manahil