Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday named a princess as its first woman ambassador to the United States, a key appointment. Princess Rima bint Bandar replaced Prince Khalid bin Salman, the younger brother of the powerful crown prince who was appointed vice defence minister in a flurry of late-night royal decrees announced on state media. “The appointment of a new envoy signifies an attempt by Riyadh to try and re-set relations with Washington, however unlikely that may be in practice, at least with Congress,” Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute in the United States, said.
Princess Rima, the daughter of a former long-time ambassador to the US, has been a leading advocate of female empowerment in the kingdom.
The princess previously worked at the kingdom’s General Sports Authority, where she led a campaign to increase women’s participation in sports.
“Princess Rima becomes the first female ambassador in Saudi history and the first female with a rank of minister — a strong signal to the integration of women into the government and workforce,” Ali Shihabi, founder of the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation, said on Twitter. Prince Khalid, a son of the king who served as ambassador since 2017, had been expected to leave Washington for some time. His new appointment as deputy defence minister comes as a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
A separate royal decree on Saturday ordered a one-month salary bonus for frontline military officials on the kingdom’s southern border. Prince Khalid, a former Saudi air force pilot, takes his post a year after the crown prince — who also serves as the defence minister — announced a military reform plan and a dramatic overhaul of top defence commanders. A key challenge for Princess Rima will be to win over US lawmakers, who earlier this month voted overwhelmingly to end American involvement in the war effort in Yemen. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
