Saudi Royal Decree Forms 3 New Ministries, Merges 2 Others

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
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Saudi Royal Decree Forms 3 New Ministries, Merges 2 Others

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz issued on Tuesday a series of Royal Decrees that formed three new ministries and merged two others.

King Salman relieved Media Minister Turki al-Shabanah, Civil Service Minister Sulaiman bin Abdullah al-Hamdan and governor of the General Investment Authority Ibrahim bin Abdulrahman al-Omar of their posts.

He ordered that Dr. Majed bin Abdullah al-Qasabi will continue to serve as Trade Minister and will also become Minister of Media.

Majed bin Abdullah bin Hamad al-Haqil will continue to serve as Minister of Housing and also serve as Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs.

King Salman ordered that the Civil Service Ministry be merged with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. It will now be known as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

The General Investment Authority will be transformed into a ministry, called the Ministry of Investment, with Khalid al-Falih as its minister.

King Salman ordered that the General Sport Authority would be transformed into the Sports Ministry. Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal was appointed as Sports Minister.

In another decree, King Salman ordered that the Commission for Tourism and National Heritage would be transformed into the tourism ministry, with Ahmed al-Khatib as its minister.



Saudi Arabia Receives Internationally Wanted Citizen in Corruption Cases from Russia

The headquarters of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in Riyadh. (Nazaha)
The headquarters of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in Riyadh. (Nazaha)
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Saudi Arabia Receives Internationally Wanted Citizen in Corruption Cases from Russia

The headquarters of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in Riyadh. (Nazaha)
The headquarters of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in Riyadh. (Nazaha)

Saudi Arabia received from Russia on Friday an internationally wanted citizen, Abdullah bin Awadh Aidah Al-Harthy, for committing financial and administrative corruption crimes.

The move was possible in light of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Kingdom’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) and Russia’s Public Prosecution in the field of combating cross-border corruption crimes.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office had responded to a formal request made by the Nazaha regarding the extradition of a wanted citizen for trial, said an official source at Nazaha.

The response underscores the commitment of both states to upholding the rule of law, strengthening international cooperation, and addressing cross-border corruption crimes, thereby ensuring that corrupt actors are not granted impunity.

Nazaha also acknowledged the GlobE Network's and INTERPOL's roles in pursuing persons involved in corruption crimes and denying them safe havens.

The authority reiterated its commitment to prosecuting those responsible for corruption crimes, both domestically and internationally. It vowed to ensure accountability in line with legal and regulatory frameworks and work to recover any assets and proceeds from committing such crimes to the state's treasury.