Middle East applauds Sulayem's FIA appointment

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Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE and the Arab world's most successful rally driver, was named as Vice President of the FIA for Sport by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile at the recent FIA General Assembly in Paris.

On Tuesday he was invited to the Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi to receive the personal congratulations of UAE President H.H. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Sulayem's appointment produced sports headlines across the Middle East, and he has been inundated with requests for media interviews, while tributes and congratulatory messages have poured in from regional motor sport officials.

HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Chairman of Jordan Motorsport, said:

'Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been a close friend of Jordan ever since his first rally victory here all those years ago (1984). '

'We were also delighted for Mohammed to become an ambassador for our WRC bid and he played a key role in us becoming the region's first round earlier this year. On behalf of the Jordan motor sport community, I would like to thank Mohammed for all his efforts and hard work and congratulate him on this deserved appointment.'

In a joint message, Jacques Salha, Vice President of the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon and Director of ASN, Gaby Kreiker, said Sulayem's success as a rally driver had made him the pride of the Middle East, and congratulated him on his FIA appointment 'for what you have earned and for what you deserve.'

In a letter to Sulayem, Brigadier Salim Ali Khalifa Al-Maskiry, Director of the Oman Automobile Association, said: 'We can be proud while considering that you are the first person from the Arab region to hold this prestigious post in more than 100 years of history of the FIA. The admiration for your achievement is felt by all of us within the Association, and within the motorsport community of the Arab World.'

In another congratulatory letter, Eng. Misha'al bin Fahed Al Sudeiri, President of the Saudi Arabian Automobile and Touring Association, told Sulayem his FIA appointment 'comes as a reward to your continuous excellence in motor sport.'

Regional press reports said the FIA appointment underlined Sulayem's status as the leading motor sport figure in the Middle East, and recognised the influential role he has played in taking world championship motor sport to the region.