DUBAI. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has issued a royal decree permitting the cabinet to convene in his absence and that of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to state media reports on Thursday.
The 88-year-old monarch, who received medical treatment for lung inflammation in May, had previously caused Crown Prince Mohammed to postpone an official visit to Japan due to concerns about the king’s health. King Salman had led a cabinet meeting via video conference a week later, which was broadcast on state TV.
Under the new decree, in the event that both the king and the crown prince are unavailable, or if neither is present, the cabinet will be chaired by the eldest member who is a descendant of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Decisions made during such meetings will be signed by this chairman, as stipulated in the royal decree.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
