Dr Mehmood Khan — first Pakistani scientist to get Saudi citizenship

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani scientist Dr Mehmood Khan has joined an exclusive list of professionals from around the world to be granted Saudi citizenship, according to a list published by financial news portal Argaam, The News reported on Monday.

Dr Khan currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hevolution Foundation — a non-profit company that works to increase the number of ageing-related treatments, compress the timeline of drug development and increase accessibility to therapeutics that extend a human lifespan.

He was granted the Kingdom's citizenship after Riyadh opened its citizenship to highly skilled professionals as part of its Vision 2030, aiming to attract and retain exceptional global talent to enhance the country's economic and social development.

The Kingdom issued a royal decree back in 2021 allowing people belonging to specialised fields such as science, medicine, culture, sports and technology to apply for citizenship.

Furthermore, Dr Khan was also mentioned in the list of all the high achievers who received Saudi citizenship this week in Argaam.

Although, the Pakistani scientist, during a 2015 interview at OPEN Silicon Valley, acknowledged that although he didn't get a chance to grow up in Pakistan, he was still "proud to be a Pakistani".

Who is Dr Mehmood Khan?

Dr Khan earned his medical degree from the University of Liverpool Medical School in England and has an impressive profile, having served in senior corporate and medical positions in a career spanning three decades.

He has previously served as Life Biosciences Inc's CEO, vice chairman and chief scientific officer of global research and development at PepsiCo. from 2007-2019 and as the president of global research and development at Takeda Pharmaceuticals from 2003-2008.

The Pakistani scientist is also a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians along with the American College of Endocrinology.

Furthermore, he has also served as the chairman of the US-Pakistan Business Council from 2016 to 2019 and continues to remain a board member of Reckitt Benckiser, a globally renowned British multinational consumer goods company.