Saudi Crown Prince chairs cabinet meeting

14/8/2024 12:44

        Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman chaired a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the state news agency said, following a royal decree issued by Saudi King Salman on Aug. 8 allowing the cabinet to convene in the absence of the king or crown prince or both.
        
        The king chaired the Aug. 6 cabinet meeting with state media posting footage of him leading the session.
        
        The 88-year-old king of the world's biggest oil exporter, a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, received medical care for lung inflammation in May that prompted Prince Mohammed to later postpone an official visit to Japan due to the king's health.
        
        The royal decree allowed the cabinet to convene without the king or the crown prince or his deputies. It said in their absence it would be chaired by the eldest member of the cabinet who is a descendant of Salman's father King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the Saudi state.
        
        The Saudi cabinet includes seven descendants of the founding king. The eldest is Minister of State Prince Mansour bin Mutaib, 72. Other direct descendants are Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, 64, and Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, 36, both sons of King Salman.