King Salman Appoints Crown Prince as Prime Minister

Riyadh, MINA – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as Prime Minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle, Arab News reported on Tuesday.

Under a royal decree issued by the King, Prince Khalid bin Salman has also been appointed Minister of Defence.

The reshuffle also named Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Bunyan as Minister of Education.

The ministers defending their positions were Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud and Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan.

Prince Abdullah bin Bandar also remains as Minister of the National Guard, Walid Al-Samaani remains in his role as Minister of Justice. Meanwhile, Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh also remains the Minister of Islamic Affairs.

Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan remains as Minister of Culture, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal remains as Minister of Sports.

Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah also remains as Minister of Hajj and Umrah, while Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi also remains as Minister of Trade.

Others, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef remains Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ahmed Al-Khateeb as Minister of Tourism, Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim as Minister of Economy and Planning, and Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel as Minister of Health.

The report also states that any Saudi cabinet session attended by King Salman will remain chaired by the King. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)