Ambassador Khiyami graduated from the American University of Beirut with a B.E. in Electrical Engineering in 1972 then went onto complete a D.E.A. (Diplome d’etudes Approfondies) in Electronics at the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon, France in 1974 and a PhD in Electronics and Information Technology (Hybrid Computation) in 1979.
Ambassador Khiyami began his career as an instructor and then a Professor of Computer Engineering and Electronic Measurements at the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at Damascus University from 1979. He then went on to become Acting Director of the Higher Institute of Applied Sciences & Technology (HIAST) at the National Research Centre in Damascus, Syria from 1993 – 1995 and was also the Head of the Electronics Department as well as Director of Research at HIAST from 1986 – 1995. He worked as a consultant for Systems International (SI), a leading software group in Syria, and played an essential role in introducing microprocessor design techniques to the electronic industry in Syria.
Ambassador Khiyami was a co-founder of the Syrian Computer Society in 1989 and remained an active member of the board until 2004. He was also a Visiting Professor at the Institute National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG), France in 1993 and has worked on a number of proposals to promote technology projects in Syria from 1985 – 1995 in the framework of collaboration between the Syrian government and UNDP/UNESCO/Rostas/UNESCWA as well as the European Union. Examples include a Technology Incubator Proposal, a Communication Engineering Diploma Proposal, a Syrian packet switching network proposal, as well as a proposal for the structuring of R&D in Syrian universities.
Since 1995, Ambassador Khiyami worked as a Project Manager for the design and implementation of large software and computer based projects in Syria. He also worked across the banking sector in Syria from 1995 - 2000 including the Central Bank, Popular Credit Bank and the Agricultural Bank. He has served as a board member in several prestigious Syrian Institutions including the Syrian European University, Syrian Arab Airlines and Areeba GSM Operator. Ambassador Khiyami was Chief Negotiator for the Syrian-EU Association Agreement and has also made contributions and produced papers for many scientific, political and economic reviews, newspapers, seminars and computer conferences.
Ambassador Khiyami is married to Mrs Yamna Farhann and has three children, Nadia, Alia and Madani.
Ambassador Khiyami was born in Damascus, Syria and speaks Arabic, English, French and German.
