2015-07-07

SUSRIS serves as your chronicle of developments in the Saudi-US relationship, in the Kingdom and in the region. As part of our service we archive the daily news reviews produced by the Saudi-US Trade Group and selected press clippings and other resources. You can find these archives and more on the SUSRIS Resources menu, including timelines, glossary, experts and officials lists, multimedia recordings, documents, and more.

Today we provide for the record the July 6th meeting of the Saudi cabinet chaired by King Salman, the first since the historic action to change the line of succession and to change key ministers.

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King Salman Chairs Cabinet’s Session – July 6th, 2015

Makkah, Ramadan 19, 1436, July 06, 2015, SPA — The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet’s session at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah on Monday evening.

At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed his thanks and praise to Allah Almighty for what the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are witnessing during these blessed days of the holy month of Ramadan of the influx of Umrah performers and visitors and what they enjoy of care and attention amid intense efforts and giant projects under construction around the clock in the grand expansions of the Two Holy Mosques and projects associated with them, stressing that the Kingdom’s efforts and spending billions on these projects emanates from its keenness on the construction of the Two Holy Mosques and its honoring by Allah Almighty to serve them, and the achievement of more comfort and convenience for pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors within the framework of continuing and sincere efforts to serve Islam and Muslims in various parts of the world, praying to Allah Almighty to accept from all their fasting, prayers and good deeds.



The King directed various concerned governmental and private bodies to redouble their efforts during these days of the holy month of Ramadan and provide what is needed by Umrah performers and visitors during their journey to perform Umrah rituals and visit the Prophet’s Mosque, both in the Two Holy Mosques or the roads leading to them.

The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Al-Toraifi said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet followed in this regard with great attention the King’s directive during his visit to Madinah and his emphasis on the importance of the careful follow-up of work in the major expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque and projects associated with it during his briefing on the special presentation of the projects of the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque and the central area, and expressed its thanks and appreciation to the King for inaugurating several development projects in Madinah.

The Cabinet emphasized that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ patronage of the handing-over ceremony of Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud International Prize of Prophetic Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies; Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Appreciation Award and Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Contest for Prophetic Hadith Memorization embodies his attention and interest in whatever serves Islam and Muslims and what the Prize enjoys of the royal patronage since its inception by the King’s approval, and as a confirmation of the State’s attention to the holy Quran and the Sunnah of His Prophet, (peace be upon him) because they are the source of Islamic legislation.

The Cabinet congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for being selected as the Personality of the Year for the service of the Holy Quran and his efforts, patronage, interest and care for the service of the holy Quran during the honoring ceremony held by the International Organization of Memorization of Holy Quran in honor of the winners of the 8th International Award in Service of Holy Quran under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ patronage.

The Minister of Culture and Information also explained that the Cabinet was briefed on the message sent by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and then listened to reports on the latest developments and their repercussions in the region and the world, and in this regard, the Cabinet welcomed the statement issued by the emergency meeting of Ministers of Interior of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States recently held in Kuwait, with its confirmation that the safety and security of GCC societies are an integral part and that GCC Arab states will remain immune to the terrorists who are stripped of all the values and Islamic principles to achieve their despicable goals.

The Cabinet also re-emphasized the Kingdom’s condemnation of the criminal acts that targeted a series of checkpoints in Sinai in the Arab Republic of Egypt, resulting in victims and injuries, expressing condolences to the Arab Republic of Egypt; the President, the Government, people and families of the victims, praying to Allah Almighty to bestow His mercy upon the deceased’s souls, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

The Minister added that the Council of Ministers also reviewed a number of topics on local affairs and expressed in this regard its thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his directive to disburse more than one billion and eight hundred million riyals for the beneficiaries of the social insurance as an aid in the holy month of Ramadan outside of Zakat finances, as part of his keenness and care for the families of the beneficiaries of the social insurance to help them to meet their needs in this blessed month.

The Council of Ministers also offered its condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince, the Deputy Crown Prince and the royal family on the death of Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jelawi Al Saud, the Governor of Northern Border Region and to his brothers and sons, praying to Allah Almighty to bestow His mercy upon the deceased soul.

Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi noted that the Council of Ministers was briefed on the topics on its agenda, including topics, which the Shura Council participated in their study, and also on the conclusion of the General Committee and Experts Bureau of the Council of Ministers about them and decided the following:

First:

The Cabinet approved the final account of King Fahd National Library for the fiscal year (1434/1435 AH).

Second:

The Cabinet approved a number of measures including the following:

1- Continuation of the Control & Investigation Board in the following-up of crimes that occurred before the date of 26/07/1434 AH and in which it began measures of investigation or prosecution. If one of these cases needs action regarding arrest or recovery, it shall refer it to the Investigation and Prosecution Commission to complete the necessary investigation and prosecution in it in accordance with its procedures.

2- The Investigation and Prosecution Commission shall take over crime cases which occurred before the date of 26/7/1434 AH, in which the Control & Investigation Board did not initiate investigation or prosecution procedures.

The Cabinet approved a number of appointments at ranks 15 and 14.

–SPA

Officials of the Government of Saudi Arabia

Source: Saudi Press Agency, SUSRIS.com

Based on the January 2015 Royal Orders Restructuring with Updates

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Premier, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

1- Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud [Replacing Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud] Crown Prince, Deputy Premier. [As of April 29, 2015] Retains post as Minister of Interior.

2- Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud [Replacing Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud], Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Premier [As of April 29, 2015] Retains post as Minister of Defense.

3- Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir [Replacing Prince Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud], Minister of Foreign Affairs. [As of April 29, 2015]

4- Prince Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of State, Cabinet’s Member, Adviser and Special Envoy to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Supervisor of Foreign Affairs. [As of April 29, 2015]

5- Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

6- Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of National Guard.

7- Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.

8- Dr. Walid bin Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Samaani, Minister of Justice.

9- Dr. Matlab bin Abdullah Al-Nafisah, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers.

10- Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers.

11- Eng. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

12- Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance.

13- Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Husayyn, Minister of Water and Electricity.

14- Dr. Mufrej bin Saad Al-Haqbani [Replacing Eng. Adel bin Mohammed bin Abdulqadir Faqih] Minister of Labor. [As of April 29, 2015]

15- Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, Minister of Housing. (Replaced Shwaish bin Saud Dhwaihi, Mar 11, 2015)

16- Dr. Bandar bin Mohammed bin Hamza Asaad Hajjar, Minister of Hajj.

17- Eng. Adel bin Mohammed bin Abdulqadir Faqih [Replacing Dr. Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Mohammed Al-Jasser] Minister of Economy and Planning. [As of April 29, 2015]

18- Dr. Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Mohammed Al-Jasser, Adviser at the Royal Court at the rank of Minister. [As of April 29, 2015]

19- Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan bin Mohammed Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry.

20- Mohammed bin Faisal bin Jaber Abu Saq, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers for Shoura Council Affairs.

21- Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Said, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers.

22- Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Muqbel, Minister of Transport.

23- Dr. Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

24- Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qusaibi, Minister of Social Affairs.

25- Dr. Saad bin Khalid bin Saadallah Al-Jabri, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers.

26- Mohammed bin Abdulmalik bin Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers.

27- Eng. Abdullatif bin Abdulmalik bin Omar Al Al-Sheikh, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs.

28- Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh [Replacing Mohammed bin Abdulmalik bin Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh, ACTING Minister of Health, who replaced Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib by Royal Order on Apr 11, 2015] as Minister of Health [As of April 29, 2015]

29- Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Araj, Minister of Civil Service.

30- Dr. Adel bin Zaid Al-Turaifi, Minister of Culture and Information.

31- Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli, Minister of Agriculture.

32- Dr. Azzam bin Mohammed Al-Dakhil, Minister of Education.

33- Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem to the post of Chief of Royal Court at Minister’s Rank. [As of April 29, 2015]

34- Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Essa, the Minister of State and Cabinet’s Member, to the post as Member at the Council of Political and Security Affairs. [As of April 29, 2015]

35- Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Yousef to the post as Chairman of Board of Grievances at Minister’s Rank. [As of April 29, 2015]

36- Dr. Nasser bin Rajeh bin Mohammed Al-Shahrani to the post of Deputy President of Human Rights Commission at Excellent Rank. [As of April 29, 2015]

37- Appointing of Dr. Amro bin Ibrahim Rajab to the post of Deputy Chief of the Cabinet’s Bureau of Experts at Excellent Rank. [As of April 29, 2015]

38- Appointing of Dr. Mansour bin Abdullah Al-Mansour to the post of Assistant General President of Youth Welfare at Excellent Rank. [As of April 29, 2015]

39- Assigning Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Jasser, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information to act as President of Radio and Television Commission in addition to his post. [As of April 29, 2015]

40 – Appointing Saleh bin Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Jasser to the post as Adviser at the Royal Court at Excellent Rank. [As of April 29, 2015]

41 – Appointing Prince Mansour bin Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the post of Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques at the Rank of Minister. [As of April 29, 2015]

The Cabinet of Saudi Arabia as of January 29, 2015. (SPA)

OFFICIALS BY POSITION

CABINET MINISTERS & SENIOR OFFICIALS (as of April 29, 2015)

King — King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

Prime Minister — King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

Deputy Prime Minister — Prince Mohammed bin Naif [Nayef] bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Crown Prince)

Second Deputy Prime Minister — Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Deputy Crown Prince)

Minister of Agriculture — Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli

Minister of Civil Service — Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Araj

Ministry of Commerce and Industry — Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan bin Mohammed Al-Rabiah

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology — Dr. Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel

Ministry of Culture and Information — Dr. Adel bin Zaid Al-Turaifi

Minister of Defense — Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Minister of Economy and Planning — Eng. Adel bin Mohammed bin Abdulqadir Faqih

Minister of Education — Dr. Azzam bin Mohammed Al-Dakhil

Minister of Finance — Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf

Minister of Foreign Affairs — Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir

Minister of Health — Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh

Minister of Housing — Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, Minister of Housing

Minister of Interior — Prince Mohammed bin Naif [Nayef] bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Minister for Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call & Guidance — Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh

Minister of Justice — Dr. Walid bin Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Samaani

Minister of Labor — Dr. Mufrej bin Saad Al-Haqbani

Minister of Municipal & Rural Affairs — Eng. Abdullatif bin Abdulmalik bin Omar Al Al-Sheikh

Minister of the National Guard — Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources — Eng. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi

Minister of Pilgrimage Affairs [Hajj] & Religious Trusts — Dr. Bandar bin Mohammed bin Hamza Asaad Hajjar

Minister of Social Affairs — Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qusaibi

Minister of Transport — Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Muqbel

Minister of Water & Electricity — Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Husayyn

Minister of State — Prince Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Cabinet Member, Adviser and Special Envoy to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Supervisor of Foreign Affairs.

Minister of State — Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Member of the Council of Ministers, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Minister of State — Dr. Matlab bin Abdullah Al-Nafisah, Member of the Council of Ministers

Minister of State — Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Member of the Council of Ministers

Minister of State — Mohammed bin Faisal bin Jaber Abu Saq, Member of the Council of Ministers for Shoura Council Affairs

Minister of State — Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Said, Member of the Council of Ministers

Minister of State — Dr. Saad bin Khalid bin Saadallah Al-Jabri, Member of the Council of Ministers

Minister of State — Mohammed bin Abdulmalik bin Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh, Member of the Council of Ministers

Minister of State — Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Essa

Chairman, Supreme Ulama Council — Abd al-Aziz bin Abdallah AL Al-Shaykh

Governor Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency — Fahd bin Abdallah al-Mubarak

Ambassador to the United States — (Vacant)

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York — Abdallah bin Yahya al-Muallami

Chief of Royal Court — Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem

Adviser at the Royal Court — Dr. Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Mohammed Al-Jasser

Source: Saudi Press Agency, World Factbook, SUSRIS.com

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