RIYADH: Saudi Arabia appointed Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s younger brother as deputy defence minister on Saturday and named a princess as the kingdom’s first woman envoy to Washington.
Prince Mohammad has been the kingdom’s defence minister since 2015 when he intervened against Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a war.
Prince Khalid, a former fighter pilot, had been ambassador to Washington for less than two years.
The new envoy, Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan, is the daughter of a former long-time ambassador to the United States.
She 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.
Princess Reema becomes ambassador as Saudi Arabia is opening up and granting women more freedoms.
Earlier this month, during his historic visit to Islamabad, Crown Prince Mohammad singled out Prime Minister Imran’s decision to open the Kartarpur crossing point with India for praise, according to a statement issued upon the conclusion of the Saudi dignitary’s visit.
He also lauded the prime minister’s openness and efforts normalise the relationship between Islamabad and New Delhi.
