Syrian journalist wins Rajiv Gandhi Excellence award

Syrian expatriate, journalist, and SANA’s correspondent in New Delhi Waiel Awwad received the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award for best foreign journalist living in India.
The award was presented to Awwad by senior Indian National Congress leader Oscar Fernandes and former Information Minister Manish Tewari, in the presence of President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Karan Singh.
Awwad dedicated the award to his homeland Syria, hoping that security and peace will prevail in it once more.
The fifth Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award ceremony is organized by Pehchan, an organization dedicated to women’s rights.
Awwad has been living in India since 1979. As a reporter, he worked in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Iran, and Iraq, among other areas across three decades.