SAUDI ARABIA: According to a royal decree published on Tuesday, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia appointed Prince Khalid as the country’s defence minister and his second son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as the nation’s prime minister.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, another son, was retained as energy minister, according to the ailing king’s royal proclamation, which was reported by the official news agency SPA.
According to the proclamation, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, and Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Investment, all stay in their current roles.
As the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter in the world and a key ally of the United States in the Middle East, the crown prince, also known as MbS, who was previously the defence minister, was promoted from his position.
According to a Saudi official, his new position as prime minister is in keeping with the king’s earlier transfer of duties to him, which included representing the kingdom on diplomatic missions and serving as the summit’s chair.
The person, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that HRH the crown prince “already supervises the main executive bodies of the state on a daily basis,” based on the king’s directives, and his new function as prime minister is within that context.
Such a delegation of responsibilities has previously occurred in the kingdom multiple times, the official said.
According to the crown prince, the kingdom’s defence industry self-sufficiency has improved from 2% to 15% and is expected to reach 50% under the leadership of the recently appointed defence minister.
The proclamation stated that King Salman will continue to preside over the Cabinet meetings he attends. State TV displayed the king presiding over a weekly cabinet meeting after the edict was issued.
The 86-year-old king, who guards the holiest sites in Islam, ascended to the throne in 2015 after serving as crown prince for more than two and a half years. Over the previous two years, he has spent a number of nights in the hospital for various illnesses.
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