RIYADH — Ambassadors-designate to a number of countries took the oath of office before Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Yamama Palace here Wednesday. [caption id="attachment_8484" align="alignnone" width="300"] Prince Abdullah Bin Faisal Bin Turki Bin Abdullah takes the oath of office as Kingdom's ambassador to the US. — SPA[/caption] They included Ambassador-designate to the US Prince Abdullah Bin Faisal Bin Turki Bin Abdullah, Ambassador-designate to Jordan Prince Khaled Bin Faisal Bin Turki Bin Abdullah, Ambassador-designate to France Dr. Khaled Bin Muhammad Al-Anqari, Ambassador-designate to Germany Dr. Awwad Bin Saleh Al-Awwad, and Ambassador-designate to Maldives Badr Bin Ali Bin Ahmed Kaheel. Ambassadors and Ambassador-designate to Algeria Dr. Sami Bin Abdullah Al-Saleh greeted the King and listened to his directives. The King prayed to Allah to grant them success in carrying out their duties. The post of Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States had been vacant since April 29 when King Salman appointed Adel Al-Jubeir as foreign minister. Jubeir was named ambassador to the US by King Abdullah in early 2007 as successor to Prince Turki Al-Faisal. Prince Abdullah, born in 1951, is an engineer by training. He began his career at the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu immediately after its establishment in 1975. He served as the acting secretary general of the Royal Commission from 1985 to 1987. Then, he was appointed secretary general of the royal commission in 1987. Next, he was appointed chairman of the body in 1991 and he served as chief executive officer of the commission and chairman of its board of directors. In 2000, he was appointed to head the newly-established Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), charged with boosting investment in the Kingdom. He served as SAGIA Governor with rank of minister through 2004. When Prince Abdullah was the governor of SAGIA, he strongly supported both liberal policies and privatization in the Saudi Arabia's economy. Nearly 2,000 foreign business licenses were issued during his tenure. The worth of these licenses were estimated to be $15 billion. Prince Abdullah further encouraged the membership of Saudi Arabia to the World Trade Organization. He served more recently as chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi-Italian Development Company.
