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Prince Khalid bin Salman Appointed Deputy Defense Minister, Princess Reema Ambassador to US

Prince Khaled bin Salman and Princess Reema bint Bandar
Prince Khaled bin Salman and Princess Reema bint Bandar
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Prince Khalid bin Salman Appointed Deputy Defense Minister, Princess Reema Ambassador to US

Prince Khaled bin Salman and Princess Reema bint Bandar
Prince Khaled bin Salman and Princess Reema bint Bandar

Deputy King Prince Mohammed bin Salman issued two royal decrees on Saturday appointing Prince Khaled bin Salman as the Kingdom’s deputy defense minister and Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States.

A separate royal decree ordered a one-month salary bonus for frontline military officials on the kingdom's southern border.

Earlier in the day, Saudi King Salman issued a royal order deputizing Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman “to steer the state’s affairs” throughout the period of the King’s absence during his visit to Egypt to take part in the first joint Arab League-European Union summit.

Becoming the first woman ambassador in the Kingdom's history, Princess Reema replaced Prince Khalid bin Salman, the younger brother of the powerful crown prince.

Prince Khalid was appointed as Saudi ambassador to the United States of America on April 22, 2017. He presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump and took office on July 21, 2017.

He graduated from the King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).

He received his initial training at Randolph Air Base in San Antonio, Texas, and received advanced training at the Columbus Air Base in Columbus, Mississippi. He also studied advanced electronic warfare in France.

Prior to his appointment as the Kingdom's ambassador to Washington, he served as an advisor at the Office of the Minister of Defense and then as an advisor to the Kingdom's embassy in Washington.

During his tenure as advisor at the Office of the Minister of Defense, he was appointed by HRH the Crown Prince with various portfolios and responsibilities.

Prince Khalid has been close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for a long time, and has been able during this period to accommodate the vision of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to develop the Ministry of Defense to be in the ranks of developed countries militarily.

Before a back injury ended his flying career, Prince Khaled flew more than 50 combat missions as part of the international coalition campaign against Daesh in Syria and as part of Operations Decisive Storm and Renewal of Hope in Yemen.

As for the new envoy, she is the daughter of a former long-time ambassador to the United States.

Princess Reema had a career in the private sector before joining the kingdom’s General Sports Authority where she championed women’s participation in sports and focused on increasing women’s empowerment.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Vernon College at George Washington University in the United States in 1999 and became the first woman to hold a multi-sport federation in the Kingdom through her position as President of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports.

Among her achievements is working alongside the Ministry of Education to establish sports education for girls in schools and the participation of women in many sports competitions.

She also played a great role in promoting awareness on breast cancer. She launched the 10ksa initiative, which was able to access the Guinness World Records after making the world's largest pink ribbon, which symbolizes the fight against breast cancer.

She has served as CEO of Alpha International / Harvey Nichols, as she entered the Fast Company of America magazine for the most creative people in 2014.

Princess Rima was chosen as 16th in the Forbes Middle East magazine for the 200 most powerful Arab women.

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Gulf

Saudi-Omani Coordination Meeting Consolidates Joint Cooperation

Saudi Minister and his Omani counterpart co-chaired the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council. (SPA)
Saudi Minister and his Omani counterpart co-chaired the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council. (SPA)
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Saudi-Omani Coordination Meeting Consolidates Joint Cooperation

Saudi Minister and his Omani counterpart co-chaired the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council. (SPA)
Saudi Minister and his Omani counterpart co-chaired the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, met on Monday in Muscat with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, where they reviewed the fraternal relations between the two countries and ways to develop them across various fields.

The two sides also discussed regional and international developments, and the efforts addressed in this regard.

Following their meeting, the Saudi Minister and his Omani counterpart co-chaired the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council with the participation of the heads of the Council’s subsidiary committees and the two heads of the Council’s General Secretariat teams.

The meeting of the Coordination Council comes as an affirmation of the keenness of the Saudi and Omani leaderships to strengthen fraternal ties and advance them toward broader horizons that achieve greater prosperity for the two countries and peoples.

In his remarks during the meeting, Prince Faisal affirmed that the meeting builds on the second meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council, which was held in AlUla on 12 December 2024, and on its positive and fruitful outcomes within the framework of the approved recommendations and initiatives.

Prince Faisal stressed the importance of continuing the work of the Council’s subsidiary committees to complete the necessary procedures to implement the remaining initiatives, and of the General Secretariat’s role in follow-up and in addressing any challenges that may hinder implementation.

The Saudi minister underscored the importance of developing and enhancing trade relations, stimulating investment, and strengthening cooperation between the public and private sectors. He commended the signing of the minutes facilitating mutual recognition of rules of origin between the two countries and the acceptance of certificates of origin issued by the competent authorities, as well as the launch of the second phase of industrial integration initiatives between the two countries.

This, Prince Faisal highlighted, reflects the strength of economic ties and underscores the commitment to enhancing economic and trade cooperation in a manner that serves the interests of both countries and peoples.

He also praised the ongoing work to establish and launch the Coordination Council’s electronic platform, which aims to connect all committee work and initiatives to facilitate follow-up on the Council’s progress. The Foreign Minister further welcomed the progress achieved between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade, industry, energy, investment, and other vital sectors, and efforts to expand cooperation opportunities in ways that yield positive outcomes and benefits for the two peoples.

For his part, the Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed in his remarks the qualitative progress in relations between the two countries and the notable development witnessed across numerous sectors toward achieving economic integration and enhancing intra-trade and joint investments.

He also highlighted deeper cooperation in security and judicial fields, as well as cultural and tourism sectors, noting the advanced and continuous political cooperation, consultation, and coordination on regional and international issues—reflecting the shared commitment to aligning visions and objectives between the two countries.

The Omani foreign minister expressed his aspiration to continue advancing joint cooperation and achieving integration across all fields that bring further benefits to the two peoples, emphasizing the activation of agreed initiatives and the implementation of joint programs and projects in a manner that fulfills the aspirations of the leaderships and peoples of both countries.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the two sides signed the minutes of the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council.

The meeting was attended by Assistant Minister of Interior Dr. Hisham Al-Falih; Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Ambassador Dr. Saud Al-Sati; Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Oman Ibrahim bin Bishan; Assistant Minister of Investment Dr. Abdullah Al-Dubaikhi; Deputy Minister for International Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Economy and Planning Rakan Tarabzoni; Head of the Secretariat's working group by from the Saudi side Engineer Fahd Al-Harthi; and Director General of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Culture Abdullah Al-Raddadi; and Advisor to the Director of the Strategic Management Office Eng. Abdulrahman Maghrabi.

Gulf

Arab League Condemns Israeli Decision to Establish New Settlements in West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israeli Decision to Establish New Settlements in West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit condemned the decision by the Israeli occupation’s ministerial committee to approve the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, considering it a blatant challenge to the international will rejecting settlement activity and a violation of international law, which affirms the illegitimacy of settlements.

In a statement issued Monday, the secretary-general said the continued expansion of illegal settlement activity aims to prevent the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state and reflects the nature of the Israeli government, which he said is controlled by extremists and settlers, SPA reported.

Aboul Gheit stressed that settlement expansion will not make it legitimate under any circumstances.

 

He highlighted that the violence practiced by extremist settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank constitutes a form of terrorism carried out under the watch and with the protection of the official institutions of the occupying power.

Gulf

Saudi FM Arrives in Muscat for Meeting of Saudi-Omani Coordination Council 

Omani FM Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi welcomes his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah upon his arrival in Muscat. (SPA)
Omani FM Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi welcomes his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah upon his arrival in Muscat. (SPA)
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Saudi FM Arrives in Muscat for Meeting of Saudi-Omani Coordination Council 

Omani FM Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi welcomes his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah upon his arrival in Muscat. (SPA)
Omani FM Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi welcomes his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah upon his arrival in Muscat. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrived in Muscat on Monday.

He was received by his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi upon his arrival at Muscat International Airport.

The two sides are scheduled to hold the third meeting of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council.