Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman appointed Prime Minister

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has appointed his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom's prime minister, the state-run news agency SPA reported citing a royal decree.

The 37-year-old crown prince, widely known by the acronym MBS will replace the king as Prime Minister while Prince Khalid bin Salman will become Defence Minister, Gulf News reported on Tuesday. The cabinet reshuffle saw the appointment of Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahad bin Abdul Aziz as Minister of State, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal as Minister of Sports.

The decree also saw the appointment of Yousef Al Benyan as the Minister of Education.

Heads of ministries that were kept unchanged include the minister of energy, the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of investment, the minister of interior, and the minister of finance.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai congratulated Saudi Crown Prince on his appointment as the Kingdom's Prime Minister.

"I congratulate my brother, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, on his appointment as the Kingdom's Prime Minister, wishing him success, and the Kingdom greater progress under the wise leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud," Sheikh Hamdan tweeted.

Earlier in April 2016, Mohammed bin Salman introduced Vision 2030, which is aimed at making Saudi Arabia the heart of the Arab and Islamic world. The grand plan also seeks to make the kingdom less reliant on oil.

Since his ascent to power, the crown prince has also been driving a more assertive foreign policy against Iran.